


Old Frenemies

by axmaree



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Back to Earth, Bullying, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Keith & Pidge | Katie Holt Friendship, M/M, Pidge | Katie Holt is Savage, Post-Season/Series 06, Reveal, Sad and Happy, Team Bonding, Team Voltron Family, The paladins have PTSD, hints of klance, ptsd mention, return to earth, suggested klance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-23
Updated: 2019-05-06
Packaged: 2019-05-27 05:22:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 32,064
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15017546
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/axmaree/pseuds/axmaree
Summary: Team Voltron has made it to Earth with the lions on reserve power and no way to recharge them. Without their lions, the paladins have to find other ways to keep their minds busy and off the war. While out trying to have fun, Pidge runs into people- bullies- she never thought she'd see again, re-opening old wounds. To add salt to the wound, new enemies arise to join up with the old demons haunting not just Pidge, but all of team Voltron.Post s6, platonic/friendly Keith and Pidge, hints at KlanceUpdate 7/25/18: Minor summary update to be more inclusive of the entire plot! This fic is now considered an alternate season 7 or, in other words, a season 7 in which voltron beats Sendak to earth by quite a lot of time.





	1. Unexpected Visitors

It had been a week since team Voltron had arrived back to earth, and Pidge had never been so ridiculously bored in her entire life.

Well, that wasn’t completely true. There was that week in second grade where her parents had taken her and Matt to visit Great-Grandma Shirley in Missouri and the two of them had been forced to leave behind all electronics and instead enjoy nature. Except it had rained all week, so they ended up just making mud pies for hours under the tiny covered backyard patio. But for the most part, this was the most bored she had ever been.

The trip home had been long and tedious without the castle and its wormhole ability. They had to make frequent stops to sleep since they couldn’t just fly straight through, and the first few days Shiro hadn’t even been awake, which had them all on edge. As a result, when they finally reached Earth, the lions had all been on reserve power and un-pilotable.

Pidge never thought she’d miss space so much.

She had thought about going home for so long, seeing the earth’s green grass and blue skies and feeling rain on her face, that she never really put thought into the fact that the vast, open universe had become a sort of second home to her. As much as she had missed the grass and the sky and the rain when she was out defending the universe, she missed the stars and the galaxies and the nebulas now.

Pidge glanced around the room. The team had taken up residence at the Holt’s estate about an hour out from the Garrison. After her dad had come home her parents used the monetary compensation the Garrison had provided to her mom for the disappearance of Matt and her dad to purchase a home on a large plot of land. They were about half an hour away from their old home and Pidge and Matt’s old school district, pre-Garrison times, which meant the city was too far to walk. _Perfect,_ Pidge had thought after a few days of not doing much at the house, _I can’t go anywhere._ After months of going _everywhere_ , this was torture.

Currently, she was lounged on the couch in the upstairs living room, flipping through the TV channels. Her parents had paid for the most basic cable TV, so there wasn’t much to watch. A news channel was reporting that flashes of _something_ had been spotted in the night sky just a week ago and conspiracy theorists were already using it as evidence for an alien attack.

The flashes, of course, had been team Voltron limping into the atmosphere. They had managed to sneak into Earth relatively undetected. With what was left of the lions’ power they had activated the cloaking mechanism and the entrance into the atmosphere had made it flicker just a bit. Other than that, they had been fine.

“Hey, Pidge?”

Pidge turned her head to find Hunk peeking around the corner. He was wearing a t-shirt her father had given him to borrow, and it was a little tight, showing off how built he had really become. “Yeah?”

Hunk grinned sheepishly. “Well, we’re not really doing much since Allura and Coran are still working on how exactly they’re gonna build the new castle and we can’t do much to help, so we were wondering if you could ask your dad if we can borrow a car?” He seemed sort of embarrassed to ask. It was so easy now that they were back on earth to fall into old habits and dynamics. ‘Can you ask your dad this?’ and ‘can you ask your mom that?’ It was like all of them had sort of forgotten that they were the _literal_ defenders of the universe. “So we can go into town.”

Pidge clicked the power button and sat up. “Yeah, sure.”

Hunk breathed out in relief and gave her a thumbs-up, smiling. “You’re the best.”

She slid off the couch and made her way down the hall to the office. Her dad was at his desk, like usual, pouring over different blueprints and spreadsheets for the castle. “Hey dad?”

He looked up and smiled at her. “Yes, Katie?”

It was still weird being called her birth name. Strange how something she had gone by her whole life was now foreign to her. “Can we borrow a car? We want to go into town.”

Her dad smiled. “Of course, just don’t wreck it please.”

Pidge smiled back. “No promises.”

Her dad chuckled lightly and turned back to his work. Pidge shut the door to the office quietly and walked back to the living room. Hunk was still standing there, shuffling his hands. She gave him a thumbs-up, and his face lit up. He bounded down the stairs to where the rest of the team was most likely doing exactly what she had been doing for the past half hour.

Ten minutes later, they were all loaded into the old van that her parents were saving for when she turned 16. Or, well, what they were saving before she flounced off into space to become a giant lion pilot. Keith jumped into the front seat and Lance stole shotgun, so Pidge and Hunk shared the back. Shiro opted to stay behind, especially since he would be pretty recognizable even with his new white hair and Matt was passed out in his bedroom. The rest of them hoped that they had been gone just long enough for people to not identify them with the images of the kids who had gone missing a year earlier.

It took Keith a few minutes to get used to the feeling of being behind a normal steering wheel again, but after that it was a smooth ride. Surprisingly, Lance didn’t mock his driving, and Pidge had a feeling that it was because he feared Keith making him drive instead.

They ended up at the local mall because, according to Lance, “it has something for everyone.” Hunk dragged Lance into the pet store to pet the puppies and Keith walked into a clothes store muttering something about outgrowing all of his outfits, leaving just Pidge to walk around on her own. As much as she liked puppies and kittens, the pet stores were always so loud and crowded, and being around crowds made her even more uncomfortable now than when she was a kid. Something about all the noise and the constricting feeling gave her the creeps, and with crowds came more of a chance of being recognized, so she opted to stay in the more open stores.

She ended up at the food court and found a new coffee shop that hadn’t been there the last time she visited the mall almost two years earlier. It smelled amazing, and she hadn’t slept well the past few nights, so she couldn’t stop herself from going in. Nightmares and paranoia had given her countless sleepless nights over the past year, and in space there wasn’t coffee, so this was like a dream come true to her. She ordered a double shot macchiato and sat at a table in the corner.

After making sure that no one would be able to read over her shoulder, Pidge pulled her laptop out of her bag and opened up her newest project. For the past few days she had been designing a robot companion for herself to pass the time. It was just for fun, but she couldn’t help imagining that maybe, once they built the castle, she could have it. She stared at the plans for a few moments, imagining what it would be like to have something like that at her side.

“Katie?!”

A sharp voice cut through her reverie, and Pidge jumped. She looked up from the screen to find herself facing- “Angela?”

The girl had grown quite a bit since science class at her school before the Garrison, but she was still instantly recognizable. Bright red hair and flashy green eyes made her stand out among everyone else, and she was still gorgeous. She was with three others, two boys that Pidge recognized from that same science class and a girl that she had never seen before.

“Oh my God,” Angela breathed out. She set her coffee down and seemed to brace herself on the table.

Pidge nervously pushed her glasses up. “Uh, do you need something?”

Angela sat down in the chair across from Pidge and motioned for the others to join her. Pidge’s gaze jumped to each of them nervously, and her hand hovered next to the rim of the laptop, ready to close it at any moment. “I can’t believe it’s actually you! What happened to you?”

Pidge did a once over for any excuse to leave and found none. She said a silent prayer that one of the team would show up soon. “I went to the Galaxy Garrison.”

The boy on Angela’s left- Chris, if Pidge remembered correctly- looked shocked. “You got into the Garrison? I thought they only accepted high schoolers! You were going into what, eighth grade?”

Pidge nodded slowly. She knew they were probing her for information to use against her, it was how they operated. Find something a bit strange and exploit it for all it’s worth. They had done it to her all through elementary school and middle school, but now she was older, braver, and hopefully a bit better at handling social confrontation.

She opened her mouth to say something snarky, but before she could speak, Chris snatched her laptop and slid it over to the rest of the group. “Hey!” Pidge protested, reaching for it.

“What’s this you’re working on?” The other guy asked. She believed his name started with a G, but for the life of her she couldn’t remember what it was. He raised an eyebrow. “Is this something Garrison related?”

“No, look,” said Chris, pointing to the top. “’Dream robot friend.’” He stared at her. “You’re designing a robot… friend?” The two boys looked at each other for a split second, and burst into laughter. Despite herself and her annoyance with them, Pidge’s face turned bright red and she slid down further in her seat. What she would give to disappear right now.

The boys continued to snicker to themselves, reading over the plans. “You cut your hair too, I see,” Angela remarked. “And glasses now?”

Pidge nodded again, pushing her glasses up out of habit. A question about herself, but one she could give a good answer to. That was nice. “Short hair for practicality,” she told her curtly. “When piloting, you can’t have anything in your way.”

Angela looked her hair up and down, and Pidge knew it had seen better days. She hadn’t worried about cutting or styling it while she was in space, so it had grown out a bit odd and it had only just reached long enough for her to put it up. “It’s a bit… boyish. It was cuter when it was long.”

Pidge grit her teeth. All the little criticisms from them, it was how it had always been back in middle school. The hope that they had matured with entering high school was gone. She remembered now that the district had gotten too big, and they had split the high school up and put the freshmen in a totally different building, so maybe that’s why. All their little cliques and hierarchies hadn’t been humbled by cocky upperclassmen, leaving them to continue to act greater-than-thou.

And no matter what she still couldn’t stand up to them.

Chris pointed at the screen again. “Look! Rover 2, Rover the second, Bee-bo… are these names?” He laughed loudly. “Pam-pam!”

Pidge’s face turned redder, and she bit her lip to keep from yelling at them. “Can I have my computer back now?”

Chris handed her back the laptop, still laughing, and Pidge wanted nothing more than to disappear into nothing. She quickly closed it and stuffed it into her bag. “Look, it was nice seeing you guys again, but I really should be go-“

“Nonsense!” Angela cut her off. “Come hang out with us. Where else do you have to go? It’s a Saturday and you’re here alone!”

_No,_ she thought, _tell them no! You can say no!_ “Sure.” _Dammit!_ Pidge grimaced as she said it, but they either didn’t notice or didn’t care. She had never been good at confrontation or saying no, and that hadn’t changed with being in space. Stupid social issues.

As they moved out of the food court, Pidge felt the caffeine buzz setting in and as it did she became more aware of all the movement around her, which was the last thing she needed right now. Crowds were definitely still freaking her out.

They stopped off at a few random stores for maybe a minute or two each since none of them caught anybody’s interest. As they passed the video game store, the-boy-whose-name-starts-with-a-G asked if they could stop in so he could check on the price of some game that Lance would probably play.

Pidge broke off to look around, and as she passed one shelf, she gasped. “They came out with new Magic the Gathering cards? It’s been years!” She excitedly picked up the game and flipped it over to the back, her eyes scanning for everything it had to offer, forgetting who she was around.

A snort behind her broke her out of her fascination. “You like Magic? Like... trading cards?” It was the other girl, the one Pidge didn’t know.

Pidge turned red, and she silently cursed her mom for giving easy-to-blush to her. “Yeah, what’s the big deal?”

Angela came up behind the other girl. “Well, it’s just not really… cool.” She walked up to Pidge and gingerly picked the game out of her hand. She held it like it was a dead rat as she set it back on the self. “People who like those games are the weird ones.”

As angry as she was, she had to stop herself. _Control your anger,_ she reminded herself, _watch yourself._ She needed to lay low, not make a scene or draw any attention to herself or show these people any inkling that she had changed much. Right now she wasn’t Pidge, paladin of the green lion and defender of the universe, she was Katie, an easy target who was a bit shy. But no matter what, even when she reminded herself who she was, something caught in her throat whenever they mocked her. Some part of her felt like she was still standing in those massive hallways, pinned down by the laughter of Angela and her stupid group.

She stalked out of the store and the others followed close behind, the boys still chuckling to themselves about Pidge liking “kid games.” Pidge entertained herself by imagining pulling her bayard out and giving them all a little shock, figuratively and literally. The thought made her smile.

Eventually, Angela led them all into a clothing shop. The place felt oddly… sterile to Pidge. The walls, floor, and ceiling were all a shiny white, and a red stripe ran horizontally across the top of the wall. Mannequin displays and posters advertising sales were few and far between, making the walls look empty.

“Katie, we need to get you some better clothes.” Angela announced, and the other girl nodded.

Pidge glanced down at her t-shirt. It was old, yeah, but it was functional. “What’s wrong with my clothes?”

Angela looked her up and down and gave her a look that said ‘I know better than you.’ “Well, frankly, they’re ugly and they make you look pretty terrible. Not to be rude or anything,” she added as an afterthought.

Yeah, like that fixed everything. Pidge hated those kinds of people, the ones who always said something like “no offense” after an offensive comment. It never fixed anything, but for some reason they thought it did. Before she could say anything in reply, Angela grabbed some outfits off the sales rack and shoved them into Pidge’s arms. “Go try these on.”

If she refused now, they would just pressure her relentlessly, and if she snapped at them they’d cause a scene and risk somebody recognizing her as that kid who went missing, which would be very bad. She sighed and reluctantly stepped into the dressing room. Some of the clothes were fine, she did have to admit. A tight-fitting maroon shirt, some shorts that showed off her legs nicely, a sun dress that wouldn’t get in the way. She made a mental note to come back to this shop another time.

She continued to come out in clothes, and Angela vetoed almost all of it, even some of the things Pidge liked. She just went along with it, not really caring one way or another. Eventually, she stepped out in a _very_ tight-fitted tank top and shorts that showed off all of her muscles and some of the more visible scars from fighting. _Maybe this will shut them up,_ she thought.

When he spotted her, Chris’s mouth fell open. His eyes zeroed in on a scar on her shoulder that was just white enough to be visible, and Pidge almost regretted showing off before remembering that any scar could be passed off as a Garrison-related injury. She waited eagerly for his comment and, after a few moments of floundering, he finally said, “wow, you look even worse in that.”

Pidge grit her teeth, but her face turned red despite herself. Without another word, she strode back into the dressing room. As soon as the door clicked shut, she slammed her fist into the wall. A small crack spread out from her fist, carving a pattern in the faded green wall. This shouldn’t be bothering her! She had stared death in the eyes and laughed at it multiple times in the past year. She had been shot and sliced and bruised and broken. She had broken her wrist mid-battle and just switched bayard arms and kept fighting. By all means she should be able to handle stupid taunts from freshmen, but she couldn’t. Everything they said brought her back to when she was just a kid at the mercy of their words, and she hated it.

As kids their bullying had been relentless; all through elementary school and middle school they had gone after her for being “different.” They made her into an outcast, pushed her off the playsets, stole her books, taunted her, and just generally made her miserable. And now, when she should be perfectly brave enough to shut them down, she couldn’t, not just because she had to lay low but because she physical _could not._

She threw back on her normal clothes and slid out of the dressing room. The boys were snickering over something on a phone screen, but they quickly hid it when they saw her. Pidge chose to ignore them. As she walked closer, she straightened and pushed her shoulders back, the same stance she took when she was trying to intimidate someone. The other girl eyed her warily, but the others didn’t seem to notice.

On their way out of the store, Pidge spotted Keith walking into a candy shop and breathed a sigh of relief. She quietly suggested that they go to the candy store, so Angela led them inside.

The walls of the store were lined with hundreds of different types of candy that could be purchased by the pound. Obscure European and Asian candies lined a shelf labeled ‘foreign tasties!’ and the whole placed smelled of sugar and artificial fruit. Pidge eyed the counter of homemade chocolates; if she wasn’t trying to make an escape she would’ve been buying everything she could get her hands on at that counter.

After a few moments, Keith caught sight of her and walked up to the group. All four of their eyes widened as he walked closer, and Pidge had to admit that if you didn’t know him he would seem pretty intimidating. His long hair was tied back in a low ponytail, and his scar stood out in stark contrast to his pale skin. He was muscular, and his tight shirt did nothing to hide the fact. “Hey Pidge.”

Pidge flinched. That wasn’t going to slide over their heads easily, intimidating boy or not.

“Pidge? What kind of name is that?” The girl that Pidge didn’t know asked, tearing her eyes away from Keith’s chest. She wasn’t supposed to be Pidge to them; Pidge was the kid who went missing. Nobody else was named Pidge, everybody was named Katie. She silently cursed Keith.

“It’s a nickname, just something some friends call me,” Pidge explained hastily and prayed that none of them recognized the name from the news reports. She wanted away from their stupid group and all their stupid comments. Every single scathing remark they made chipped away at both her courage and her temper.

“You have friends?” Chris sneered, and then laughed. The other boy and girl joined him, and Angela smiled lightly. They drove her crazy.

Keith’s eyebrows drew together and he opened his mouth, but Pidge touched his arm. _No, don’t._

“This is Keith,” Pidge told the group. “Keith these are some of my… friends… from middle school.”

Keith looked them all up and down like he was assessing an enemy he had captured. The boy whose name starts with a G shrank back, but Chris tried to make himself look taller. “Well, it’s good to meet some of Katie’s friends.”

The name sounded so foreign coming from him. None of the team, save Shiro, had ever called her anything but Pidge, and hearing him trip over the name for a split second before saying it made her feel strange. Was she even Katie anymore? She felt entirely detached from the name. “You ready to go?” He turned to her, and she nodded. “Okay, we’ll just go get the other two.”

“You have more people here with you?” Chris asked, and then snickered again. “Who would’ve thought that geeky over here would have more friends?”

“Chris, be nice,” Angela chided lightly, but Pidge could tell she didn’t mean it. The other girl covered her mouth to hide a smile, and Pidge tried to glare at anything but her.

Keith’s eyes narrowed, but he said nothing. Pidge made a mental note to thank him for that later.

“We should be going,” Keith said, and started making his way to the door and Pidge breathed a sigh of relief.

Before Pidge could follow him, Angela grabbed her arm. “You know computers, right?” The question was abrupt, and Pidge couldn’t sense any malicious intent in it. Weird.

Pidge glanced around at the store, which was growing increasingly crowded. Keith had gone outside already, most likely just as uncomfortable in the crowd as she was. He was staring at her through the window, one eyebrow raised in suspicion. Pidge nodded, “yeah, why?”

“My computer has been acting weird lately; do you think we could meet here tomorrow again so you could take a look? I’ll buy coffee.”

Pidge knew that it was probably a trick and Angela was only feigning niceness to lure her in, she knew it, but looking at the group was like seeing double, them now and them in the halls of elementary school. And would she pass up a chance to do _something?_ She had been so bored, maybe showing them up with computer knowledge would be more entertaining than watching the same three news channels all day. She nodded.

“Yay! Is two o’clock okay?” Angela asked excitedly. Chris snickered and tried to hide it. Pidge glared at a candy rack behind him; Lance remarked that her glare was enough to make even Keith wet his pants (it wasn’t), but it was better to not turn it on Chris to be safe.

Pidge nodded again, said a hasty goodbye, and quickly left the store. The crowds were getting too much for her, and she felt like her wind pipe was slowly shrinking.

“Are you alright?” Keith asked after a few minutes of walking in silence.

Pidge just shrugged, “I guess.”

He sighed. “Look, Pidge, you know you don’t have to put up with that, right?” Of course she knew she didn’t _have_ to, but she knew her own temper well. Causing a scene would’ve been bad and she also didn’t want to admit to Keith that even now it was hard to stand up to them. It sucked.

“Yeah,” she replied with a sigh, “But it’s like… I’ve faced down countless monsters, but something about them runs deeper than just momentary fear.”

He nodded as if he understood. “I was picked on a lot as a kid,” he admitted. “I was a bit of a loner.”

Pidge feigned shock, and Keith glared at her. “Quit it, let me tell my story.” She held her hands up in mock surrender. It felt good to be around someone familiar, a family member. “If I saw those kids now, I probably would be able to face them, but if I had seen them when I was… how old are you?”

Pidge shrugged. “I think I’m fifteen?”

“Whatever,” Keith said. “If I had seen them when I was just a few years older than when they had bullied me? Yeah I’d be freaked out. Stuff like that doesn’t just go away.”

Pidge nodded. “Yeah, I get it.”

Keith nodded too. “So, what did you talk to that girl about after I left the store?”

Pidge sighed. “I agreed to meet Angela here tomorrow to fix her computer.”

“Dammit Pidge!”


	2. Comfort

It hadn’t taken them long to find Lance and Hunk. The duo ended up squaring off in a Mario Kart demo match in the game store and were just about finished when Pidge and Keith showed up.

The ride home was relatively quiet. Pidge was still wondering why she had agreed to ever see Angela and her group ever again, and Keith was probably thinking the same. She kept cursing herself for her reactions to their jibes. It was if she hadn’t been away at all and nothing had changed. The idea of falling back into old habits was even more apparent now.

“What’s with that look?” Lance asked. He had turned around and had one arm rested on the back of the seat. “Something got you angry?”

Pidge hadn’t even realized she was scowling, but now she schooled her features back into a neutral expression. “I’m fine, just thinking.”

Lance pursed his lips. “Nope, I know that Pidge look. What’s wrong?”

“I’m fine Lance,” Pidge said through clenched teeth. The last thing she wanted right now was an interrogation. She didn’t want this to be like that time in second grade when she came home upset after Chris pushed her off the swing and Matt had asked her for ten minutes what was wrong until she finally yelled at him to go away. Her temper was already pushing at its limits.

“No, Pidge, Lance is right. What’s wrong?” Hunk coaxed gently. Pidge squeezed her eyes shut and breathed out slowly.

Should she tell them? Keith knew, of course, since he had caught her with them, and maybe it’d be nice to have some more people backing her up. On the other hand it posed a risk of dragging them into a problem she needed to handle herself and a bombardment of questions. “I just don’t like large crowds,” she finally said. It wasn’t a total lie, but it wasn’t the reason she was upset. “They make me even more nervous now.”

After a moment’s hesitation Lance seemed to buy it. He turned back around and leaned against his seat. “Oh yeah, me too. And I love people!” He crossed his arms. “I don’t know what changed.” Hunk nodded in agreement.

Good, she’d distracted them. Hopefully they’d be off her back now.

Lance zoned out and was staring out the windshield blankly. Pidge watched him; he was right about not knowing what changed, she didn’t know either. Before, she had just not liked being in large crowds, but now all the noise and closeness made her feel… compressed, and it seemed like the others felt the same. The crushing feeling of everything getting too close was eerie. Was this how Shiro felt after he first returned to earth?

Pidge didn’t really know.

\--

Her clock read 1am, but her brain felt like 9am.

For the past two hours, Pidge had stared at her ceiling and practically begged sleep to come. She had hoped the caffeine crash would be enough to get her to sleep, but no such luck, and her father had taken the last of his sleeping pills which meant that Pidge couldn’t sneak any more.

So far Pidge had counted 32 distinct lines in the ceiling that didn’t match up with anything else in the pattern, three specs of something that barely stood out in the dark, and one crack near the corner. Every time she got close to falling asleep, something in her brain would switch on and tell her that she was going to be attacked if she slept at all. Every. Single. Time. She was starting to go crazy. Pidge _knew_ that she was safe and nothing was going to happen to her, but she couldn’t flush the fear out of her system.

Distinct line 33 appeared just as a thump from the room over grabbed her attention. Pidge strained her ears but heard nothing else. Just as she leaned back to find the new line, another thump sounded, and then a muffled curse. Curious, Pidge slid out of bed and made her way over to the other room. Inside, Lance was sitting on the edge of the bed, rubbing his foot and cursing quietly. “Lance?”

He looked up, startled, and dropped his foot. He winced as it hit the ground. “Oh, sorry, did I wake you up?”

Pidge shook her head. “No, I haven’t slept.”

“Mm, me neither,” Lance murmured as he looked down at his foot. “Went to get a glass of water and stubbed my toe.”

Pidge smiled at that. Here he was, sharpshooter who had taken out countless enemies with just his finger, cursing at his foot in oversized pajamas. How utterly normal. She almost laughed, until she noticed the expression on Lance’s face. He looked exhausted, his eyes downcast and shadowed with something that looked almost like grief.

A thousand thoughts raced through her head at once. Was someone hurt? Was he hurt? Had he stubbed his toe so bad that he was anguishing over his foot? “Lance…”

He looked up at her, not even bothering to change his expression. _Talk to him_ , she told herself, _ask him if he’s okay!_ But what would she say? ‘Hey Lance, you look like shit, what’s wrong?’ She opened and closed her mouth a few times, searching for the words.

“Can you guys be quiet?”

Pidge yelped and felt like she jumped right out of her skin and ten feet into the air. Keith had practically materialized behind her, rubbing his eyes. He yawned. “We’re all trying to sleep.”

Pidge shuffled into Lance’s room awkwardly and Keith followed, still rubbing his eyes. She had never noticed that he did that before. In fact, she realized, she’d never truly seen him like this. He looked exhausted, with dark circles lining his undereyes and tangled hair. _I guess none of us can really sleep right anymore,_ she remarked to herself.

Keith and Lance started talking, but Pidge zoned out. She vaguely heard Lance apologize for waking him up. Lance apologizing to Keith? That was new.

It didn’t take very long for Hunk to shuffle down the hall, also rubbing his eyes. “I heard a yell.”

“Keith scared Pidge,” Lance explained. Gone was the grief in his eyes, replaced by the comedic light that she always saw in him. Pidge made a mental note to sit down and talk to him later. “Can’t sleep?”

Hunk shook his head. He looked just as exhausted as Lance. In fact, Pidge realized, they’d all been looking increasingly tired over the past few days, Matt, Allura, Coran, and Shiro included. Had they all been getting terrible sleep like her?

“Can we all just camp out in here?” Hunk asked sleepily. “I’m tired of nightmares.”

Pidge frowned. Hunk was having nightmares again? He usually told her about that sort of thing, but it _had_ been a while since his last one. Maybe things had changed; maybe these were worse and hard to talk about. She decided not to press.

Despite how tired he looked, Lance managed a pretty big smile and nodded approvingly. “I vote yes.”

Pidge raised a finger, “I second.” If sleeping in the same room would help Hunk, and possibly everyone else, then she’d tough it out through the close contact. She yawned, finally feeling the first inkling of sleep set in. “I’ll go get Matt.”

Matt was not in his room when she checked, but was actually in the living room playing an old plug and play their dad had found at a thrift store. Pidge knew him well enough to see that he was jittery. His pixelated battleship moved in jerky motions on the screen and he didn’t even react when he was hit, just kept moving the ship back and forth in sporadic movements. Unlike the rest of them, Matt didn’t have a hard time falling asleep; it was the staying asleep part that Matt struggled with. Much like Shiro, and apparently Hunk, Matt had a lot of nightmares from his time in imprisonment. Pidge wanted nothing more than to just sit down and talk with her brother like they used to, but things were different now. Sitting and talking was a lot harder than it used to be. “We’re all camping in Lance’s room, if you want to join.”

Matt’s head swiveled around a little too fast, his eyes wide and pupils dilated. Yes, definitely a nightmare. He nodded quickly and turned off the TV.

By the time Pidge made it back, everyone was gathered in Keith’s room, spreading pillows and blankets over the floor. Allura, Coran, and Shiro had joined the group and were pitching in on the effort. Lance and Keith were arguing over who had dibs on the bed and Shiro was swaying on his feet. He had slept the least out of all of them, Pidge could tell. Everybody looked absolutely exhausted, and some of the team were moving with shaky hands. More nightmares than she originally thought.

“Just share the bed,” Shiro suggested to the arguing duo as he lied down.

“But that’s weir-“ Lance began, but stopped when he saw Shiro turn away from him and promptly fall asleep.

Keith shrugged and lied down and, after a few moments, Lance did the same. The rest of them gathered on the floor and, despite her slight discomfort touching so many people, for the first time in a long time Pidge felt completely safe.

\--

When Pidge woke up, the clock read 12:33 pm. She was pinned under Matt’s arm, so it took a bit of careful maneuvering to get out without waking him. Everybody was still passed out cold and a mess of limbs and hair, like a massive cuddle pile. Keith had his arm thrown over Lance, who was drooling on his sheets. Pidge wished she had a camera nearby to snap their photo.

As she walked towards the bathroom to shower, she wondered if this would become a normal thing for them. She hoped it did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit of a shorter, fluffier chapter this time, since it seems the team sorely needs it. Chapter 3 is in the works!


	3. Coffee and Confrontation

Keith stepped out of the room just as Pidge was leaving the bathroom, and she had to suppress a laugh. He was bright red, all the way to the tips of his ears. She rung her still-dripping hair into the towel she was carrying. "Comfortable sleep?"

Keith glared at her. "Don't talk about it."

Pidge chuckled softly. She had a feeling that being back home would change up some dynamics a little bit, but she never would've predicated that  _Lance_  of all people would be the one that made stoic, brooding Keith flustered. "I need a ride to the mall, can you take me?"

Keith opened his mouth to reply, but hesitated and pressed his lips together. "Do you really want to go?"

Pidge nodded. "I wouldn't pass up an opportunity to show off my computer skills." It was a blatant lie, and he knew it. She didn't know why she was going, maybe only because she was a woman of her word. Or maybe there was a bit of truth to her statement and she actually did want to show off to them, to finally show them that she was more than the nerdy kid who rambled too much from middle school.

Keith nodded and tried to smile, but it was tense and didn't quite reach his eyes. Pidge had to admit that she was nervous; the mark Angela and her little group had left on her ran deep, as it had for years, and this reopening of the wound hadn't been good for her. Despite how much she wanted to show them up, she realized, it was still so hard to let go of what they did.

After struggling in the bathroom trying to make her hair look somewhat decent, she gave up and threw it up into space buns. She was grateful that it was getting long enough to do things with it again, but knew once they got back to fighting that it would have to be chopped off. Long hair would get in the way. Too easy to grab, too hard to keep in the helmet. How Allura dealt with it, Pidge had no idea. Maybe Altean hair compressed easier.

Pidge shook her head. They weren't in combat, she reminded herself. They were home, for now at least. She didn't have to focus on the practicalities of short hair or how her armor would fit. The battle was far away.

The ride to the mall was quiet. Keith glanced at her every so often but never talked. Pidge could tell he was concerned, but who wouldn't be? It was like she was walking right into the arms of a bear; it was obviously going to end badly, but she couldn't stop herself.

Memories of ripped up drawings, dark woods at night, and eggshells cutting her skin began to surface, but she blinked them away. Now was not the time. That was the past. She was a different person now. Within a few moments those memories were once again locked away.

Not surprisingly, when Pidge arrived at the cramped coffee shop, Angela wasn't alone. What was surprising, though, was that no one was missing. Chris, G-boy, and other girl were all there with her. Nobody was off hiding to throw something at her or film her or any other embarrassing thing. For a split second, Pidge even doubted if this was a trap. But just for a second.

She locked eyes with Keith through the coffee shop window and nodded discreetly. He nodded back and walked away. Despite his original protests, he had promised not to stay nearby, instead letting her deal with it herself, and for that Pidge was grateful. She wasn't a kid anymore; this was her fight.

"Hey Katie," Angela greeted her cheerfully. The name Katie still sent a jolt down her spine. Every time she heard it was just another reminder of how different she had become.

There was already a macchiato waiting on the table. Pidge was surprised that Angela had even bothered to remember what she had ordered the day before. Again, she did a quick once-over of the tiny shop, scanning every customer up and down to make sure no one looked suspicious. If anything good had come out of battling, it had been the skill of quick observations.

Pidge murmured a quick hello and sat down, not even bothering to ask before grabbing Angela's laptop. It was old, at least seven years based on what she knew of recent updates. She wouldn't be surprised if it was acting up just because of age alone. The whole thing was purple, right down to the background, which featured purple fairy lights close up to a camera. Pidge vaguely remembered Angela announcing to the entire class that purple was her favorite color the first day of seventh grade and was not surprised that that hadn't changed, since it had apparently been her defining trait.

The smell of warm coffee drifted up from her macchiato. It soothed Pidge. Coffee reminded her of home, of early mornings with her brother and late nights with her dad. Coffee was a time before the war with Zarkon and Lotor and Haggar. Coffee was a time before all the death and carnage she had witnessed. She loosed a breath; she could do this.

"So," she began, "what exactly has been going on with your computer?" Pidge tried to imagine herself working in the castle, assessing whatever problem they were having and figuring out the best way to fix it. It was familiar territory. Easy to pretend that she was just doing business rather than dealing with her old bullies.

"Well, it's been running super slow," Angela explained. "It crashes a lot, and every time I right click the whole screen freezes."

Pidge raised an eyebrow. Well, that was an obvious problem. Couldn't she see that it was just a bad virus? A virus scan and some malware programs would've solved the problem easily. Why did she need Pidge?

_That's because you know what a virus looks like_ , Pidge reminded herself.  _She might not_.  _Don't get paranoid._

Pidge investigated what she said and, sure enough, the whole computer froze when she right-clicked the mouse. After restarting the computer she tried to access a file and the computer began to shut down. The extent of the infection was worse than she originally thought. "You've got a massive virus problem," She told Angela, looking up over the rims of her glasses. "It's in a lot of your files. What are you doing, torrenting movies 24/7?"

Angela stared at her like she was crazy. "Virus?" She shook her head. "No, that's not right, I have a virus program on my computer."

Pidge quirked an eyebrow. A virus program that obviously wasn't doing much good. Her eyes roamed the screen until they landed on a tiny "M" in the upper left of her screen. She clicked it and was greeted with an extremely outdated interface. "Yeah, no," she told Angela. "This program is super outdated. When was the last time you updated?"

Angela shrugged, wide-eyed, and Pidge sighed. The amount of files that Angela needed to de-malware was most definitely extensive, which was going to take a while, and Pidge didn't want to sit in the coffee shop for three hours. "I'm going to need to take this back to my place. It might take a while."

"Oh yeah, sure."

Pidge's eyebrows drew together. Why did she agree so readily to that? There hadn't been the slightest hint of hesitation in her voice, not even concern to someone taking her computer, especially someone that could have a vendetta against her. Pidge did another once over of the coffee shop, the skin on her neck prickling uncomfortably. Everything looked normal, but she couldn't shake the feeling that something was up. Pidge checked to see if the laptop webcam was recording, but the computer crashed again. For the first time she realized how quiet the other three teens had been. What was going on?

Pidge hurriedly shut the laptop and put it into her bag, eager to leave. "Well, I should be going."

Angela cocked her head curiously. "Wait, we're not coming with you?" The other three all turned their heads away from their phones to look at her.

Pidge fidgeted under their gaze, pinned down by the four pairs of eyes. Was this what they had wanted? To be nice to her so they could figure out where she lived? She was not about to give any of them any information about her home address. She was not about to be egged  _again_. "I said I was taking your laptop. I can bring it to you tomorrow."

Angela shook her head. "No, if you're taking my laptop I want to be there. What about my house?"

No. Absolutely not. Pidge was not going to any of their houses. She felt the first inklings of panic set in. Her hands shook and her breathing quickened just enough to be noticeable. Pidge had prepared for a trap at the mall, not something at Angela's house. Why was she being pressured into staying with them? Even worse, why was she  _letting_  them pressure her?

"Look, here," Pidge reached into her bag and dug out a sticky note, breathing deeply to try and calm her racing heart. She rapidly scribbled down some malware programs. "Download these, they'll help."

Pidge pulled the laptop back out and began typing furiously, trying to flush out enough of the virus so that Angela would be able to download the programs to get rid of the rest. She tried to block out the images of a castle shutting down, a screen rapidly turning from blue to red, of people shouting that they were going to die if you don't  _hurry up Pidge hurry up-_

_Stop_ , she told herself, clenching her eyes shut.  _This isn't the castle. You're safe. You aren't going to die._

Pidge took a steadying breath to calm her shaking hands and opened her eyes. Angela was watching her intently, but smiled innocently as if she hadn't been staring as soon as Pidge looked up. Another slow breath later she was typing again, blinking back tears that she hoped weren't noticeable. Chris raised an eyebrow as she typed, and Pidge couldn't help but feel a sense of superiority despite her rapid heartbeat and shallow breathing. Her typing sped up as she regained confidence.

It took longer than she would've liked, but Pidge eventually deemed the computer functional enough to download the programs. "Here, hopefully this is good enough," she handed the computer back to Angela and took a drink of the macchiato. Familiar. Comforting. She loosed another breath. "Still would've worked better if I could have taken it home."

Angela pursed her lips but said nothing, instead closing her laptop. She gave Pidge another sickly-sweet smile that did nothing to calm her anxiety.

"So you really can work with computers," G-boy, as she so affectionately referred to him, remarked.

Pidge cocked an eyebrow. "Well, yeah. I said that."

G-boy sat back and crossed his arms, giving her a smug look that Pidge wished she could wipe clean off his face with her bayard. "Well, I didn't know if you were telling the truth. What is it in movies? You can't trust the goblins?"

Chris snickered and Angela shot them a look, but the intensity of it was half-assed at best. Pidge just grit her teeth. There were the stupid boys she knew and hated. Pidge had known that they wouldn't be able to keep their mouths shut the entire time she was there, but she still couldn't help the disappointment she felt at having to deal with them. She dug deep for any shred of confidence she could find and said, "I've received high level training in piloting, communications, engineering, and just about anything computer related. I could devise a program made specifically to shut down your computer forever without ever touching it, and you would have no way to ever access it again."

The look on G-boy's face was priceless and almost worth the quickening of her heartbeat. He turned a bright shade of crimson, but whether it was from anger or embarrassment or both Pidge didn't know. He spluttered for a few moments before saying, "yeah, well, that's illegal!"

Pidge just smiled innocently at him, clenching her hands into fists at her side to hide their shaking. She pushed the last shreds of the red and blue screen out of her mind.

Angela smiled tightly, and it was so obviously forced that Pidge had to remind herself not to glare at the other girl. "I'd like you to check on it again in a few days, when are you free?"

It was an innocent question enough. Just come in, do a quick check up, and then she was gone. Despite her feeling of unease about this day, Angela  _had_  treated her alright. Maybe she truly did want Pidge's help. She tried to give the other girl the benefit of the doubt.

_It's a trap, she wants you to think that,_  a small part of her brain whispered. Pidge had learned early on in the war that you couldn't trust anyone, and this had only been solidified by recent events. Part of her, she knew, would never really be able to trust again. Pidge wanted to trust her, she really did. Being suspicious all the time was incredibly draining.  _It's just like Lotor,_  the smaller part insisted, trying to overrule her want to trust.

No, this wasn't Lotor, she reminded herself. This was a high school girl who just wanted her laptop fixed. Nobody was going to die if she trusted Angela.

"Any day, really," Pidge told the other girl, the small part of her cursing the rest of her. She told it to shut up.

"The Garrison is on break?" Chris broke in.

Pidge froze. Shit, was it? She couldn't remember. What month was it, March? May? She couldn't even remember if the Garrison took routine breaks. "Uh, we have this week off," she floundered for a believable lie. "Since we're almost year round we have different break schedules than you guys."

Angela nodded like she understood, and Pidge loosed a breath. Good, good, quick coverup. She needed to get better at lying.

"How about after school Wednesday?" Angela suggested, bringing Pidge back into the moment.

Wednesday. Today was… Sunday. That would give her three days to wind down from this level of social confrontation and prepare for their next meeting. Easy. "Sounds perfect."

Angela said, "Cool, where do you want to meet? Your house?"

There it was again; that subtle push to go to Pidge's house. Something felt strange about that, but she shook it off. That wasn't a problem for right now. "There's a diner between my house and here. Mel's, I think."

Angela nodded, still smiling sweetly. Pidge tried to shake off her suspicions of the other girl. "I know that place. Sounds good."

Pidge breathed a soft sigh of relief. No pressure to go to her house, nothing that would play on her emotions to get her to agree to something very not good. If any one of them ended up there and saw that Matt and her father were  _alive_  then she'd have a lot more than bullying to deal with.

Pidge stood, eager to make a quick escape before they tried to ask her any more questions. "Well, see you then." Without waiting for a goodbye, she left the coffee shop.

As she made her way around the corner to find Keith, the hair on her neck pricked up. Before she could turn around, hands clamped down on her shoulders.

Suddenly, it was like she had tunnel vision. Her pulse quickened as everything zeroed in around her. The whole world came to a standstill, as if nothing around her was moving. She felt like she was back in a battle, when everything disappeared except the movements of the enemy. Without a sound, she whirled to face whoever was behind her, fist ready.

And stopped mid swing.

G-boy was covering his mouth to suppress a laugh, staring at Pidge's face. She felt a rush of shame wash over her. He may be annoying and rude, but she had almost decked him in public. Her, a  _literal_ protector of the universe, a paladin of Voltron, had almost knocked him out. He didn't deserve that, he was just a stupid, immature kid. She was in a  _shopping mall_ for God's sake, not a battlefield. Embarrassment filled her chest and, without another word, she turned on her heel and rushed off, leaving behind G-boy, still laughing.

For the first time, Pidge realized that she was never really going to be able to go back to how things used to be.

* * *

Angela watched Grant as he laughed at Katie's retreat. Her reaction had been odd, to say the least. The expression on her face was not one of fear or surprise, but steely determination. Before, whenever the boys had scared her in middle school, she had always just jumped and turned around. This time she had gone for a hit without even hesitating. Grant may not have noticed, but Angela had.

Katie had been strange lately. Everything about her had changed, even the tiniest of things. Angela hadn't missed the way her hands shook and her face drained of color whenever she was working on the laptop, or the tiny edge of a white scar peeking out from the shoulder of her t-shirt. Angela knew the Garrison was brutal, but there was no way that it had been enough to traumatize the girl. She looked up to check on her friends and saw they were walking back over to her, still laughing amongst themselves. That meant Katie was out of sight now.

She had contemplated not bringing the others here with her, but it was always entertaining to watch them have their fun with Katie. In elementary and middle school, Angela had never been the one who did much, instead orchestrating everything from the sidelines. That way, she never got in trouble and was still able to bask in the glory of being both the teacher's pet and the girl that nobody messed with, so watching them taunt and jab at others had been a form of entertainment for her for years, and Layla had been happy to join her group of elites for that price.

It had been annoying trying to salvage her old computer. The stupid thing had been overrun with viruses years ago, so she had just bought a new one. It had been an ordeal to get it to even turn on, and she was shocked that Katie never realized it was ridiculously outdated. Angela had thought that the old, barely-used virus program would've tipped her off, but playing stupid had worked. For someone who claimed to have a keen eye, Katie really wasn't that observant.

Angela turned her eyes to her phone. She clenched it so tightly that her knuckles were turning white. The faces of three young students, clad in full Garrison uniform, smiled up at her. Above them were the words  _'missing- presumed dead after tragic explosion.'_  The others had no idea, had not even noticed, but Angela had. As soon as she saw Katie she had realized.

The name  _Pidge Gunderson_  stared at her from under Katie's picture.

Missing, presumed dead.

"I'm going to figure you out,  _Pidge_ ," Angela hissed to herself, spitting out the name with venom. "You aren't getting away with this." She watched her friends, still laughing at a dead man walking. "Whatever it is."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Sorry it took a bit for this chapter to get out, I ended up getting super sunburned at the beach and my hands were sunburned, so it hurt to type. Whoops.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed! Drop a review if you'd like.


	4. Late Night Grief

"You can't keep doing this, Pidge."

Pidge looked up from her computer. Keith was leaned against the wall of her bedroom, arms crossed. His jacket was gone in favor of a plain t-shirt and he had pulled his hair back up in a ponytail.

"I know."

Keith pursed his lips. "Then why do you keep agreeing to meet them?"

Pidge looked back down at the blueprints for her robot design displayed on the computer screen. "I don't know." She squeezed her eyes shut and breathed out. "I really don't know. Maybe I want to show them I'm not a kid anymore. I don't know."

She heard Keith push off from the wall with a sigh. His weight settled down onto the mattress next to her and he looped an arm around her shoulders. She stiffened but eventually settled into the comforting touch.

"I get it. I really do," Keith began. "What I wouldn't give to show up some of the people who made my life miserable when I was your age." He sighed. "But sometimes it's better to let go."

Pidge nodded in understanding. There had been so many more that just Angela and her group. Caitlin in third grade and Jasmine in sixth and a whole host of others that had made her years in public school difficult, and she had let go of all of them. It was just something about Angela and the rest of them that she couldn't forget. Not yet "Yeah," she looked up at him. "But I think this is something I have to do."

Keith, thankfully, didn't protest. He nodded like he understood and got up off the bed. "Then you'll have the entire team to back you up."

What a sight that would be. Six paladins, both current and retired, a space rebel officer, a Galra rebel, a weird cosmic wolf, and a buff pilot and mechanic facing down four teenagers. Despite herself, she smiled.

* * *

It was around 1 a.m. when she heard the crying. It was soft, obvious that whoever it was was trying to hide the sound of it.

Pidge had been roaming the house for about thirty minutes trying to make herself tired to no avail. She was too nervous to ask to sleep in one of the other paladin's rooms and Matt was passed out cold. She didn't have the heart to wake him, so she had opted to pace the house until exhaustion either made her trudge back to her bed or pass out on the floor.

Pidge followed the soft hiccupping sobs down the hall to a door that was slightly ajar. After a steadying breath, she pushed it open to find Lance inside, clutching a pillow to his chest with tears on his face. As soon as he saw her, he straightened up, wiped his face, and put on a tight smile. "Hey Pidge, what's up?"

Pidge gave him a sympathetic look and he broke the grin, looking back down at his pillow sadly. "Didn't hide it fast enough, did I?" He let out a watery laugh.

Pidge stood there awkwardly for a few moments, contemplating. What should she do? She had never been the best at comforting people. When Matt's favorite character had died in some anime he watched Pidge had told him 'well, at least you'll never see him again and be reminded,' in an attempt to comfort her brother. It hadn't worked.

But Lance was crying alone in the middle of the night. This wasn't comforting someone over a fictional character (though Matt  _had_  been pretty heartbroken). Pidge knew how much crying alone sucked, so she steeled her emotions and sat down next to him. "What's wrong?"

Lance chuckled sadly. "Nothing. Everything." He squeezed the pillow tighter.

Pidge pursed her lips. "That doesn't help me much."

Lance was quiet for a few moments, and Pidge almost thought he zoned out. But he said, "It's not fair."

Pidge's eyebrows drew together. That was vague. What wasn't fair? Life? "What do you mean?"

Lance laughed sadly again and shook his head. "I'm going to sound like an asshole."

Pidge gave him smile, hoping it didn't look too forced. "Well, I'm an asshole all the time, so I won't be fazed."

Lance smiled, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. He sighed, eyes downcast. That look of grief Pidge had noticed the other night was back in full force and it made her feel… weird. Lance was always the happy one, he never looked sad. She knew that  _of course_ he was going to be sad at times, he was  _human_ , but it threw her for a loop to see him like this.

He sighed again and looked up, not really focusing on anything in particular. "It's not fair that you and Matt and Keith get to be around your families while mine and Hunk's still think we're dead."

Oh.  _Oh._

"Oh, Lance…"

Lance laughed again, the sound of it punctuated by the before-breakdown voice cracks. "Did you know my grandmother died while we were in space?" At Pidge's shocked look, he continued. "I looked up my family on your dad's computer. I found her obituary." A tear streaked its way down his cheek, soon followed by another. "She's dead, Pidge. My  _abuela._  She died thinking I went first."

Pidge didn't know what to say. What  _could_  she say? She knew from firsthand experience what it felt like to lose a family member, but she had known deep inside that they were alive. This time, someone really was gone, and without a goodbye too…

"Was she sick?" No, no! That was not what you were supposed to say to someone who was grieving. Pidge mentally punched herself.

Lance shook his head. "Not when we left. It said she had a stroke."

"I'm… I'm sorry, Lance," Pidge stuttered out, grasping for something,  _anything_  to say.

More tears fell down Lance's face and onto his already tear-stained pillow. He clutched it tighter, like it was a lifeline. "Why don't we get to see our families? Why don't we get to hug them and tell them we're alive?"

Pidge was at a loss for words. Of course he would've been upset about this! Lance adored his family, they were his everything. To think for even a moment that he was content staying in the Holt's estate when he was so close to his home was blasphemy. She felt so stupid for not realizing it before.

"I… I don't know, Lance," her hand hovered over his arm, but she withdrew it when a sob wracked his body. She felt the beginning of tears pricking at the back of her eyes and cursed her empathy. "We can't be caught; we'll put everyone in danger."

"You think I don't know that?" Lance forced out between sobs. Pidge flinched back as if she'd been struck. "I'm a danger to my family, Pidge. I'm supposed to protect them but now I can't even see them because I'll get them killed!"

A tear finally escaped Pidge's eye to match Lance's own. She was terrible at this; everything she said was making it worse. Not knowing what else to do, she wrapped her arms around him in the tightest hug she could manage. Without hesitating, Lance dropped his pillow and threw his arms around her, sobbing into her shoulder.

She may not be able to talk people through emotional times, but she sure as hell could give a damn good hug.

So Pidge hugged him. She hugged him until he stopped shaking and his sobs turned into hiccups and quiet tears.

"You'll see them. I promise. It may take time, but you  _will_  see them," Pidge reassured. She didn't know if she was in a position to make those sorts of promises, but she would do everything in her power to make it true. To hell with Angela and her stupid laptop, her friends were her priority. Right now, Lance came first.

In the morning, she would talk to Keith and Shiro about finding a way to sneak Lance and Hunk to their families and she wouldn't rest until the found a way.

"Lance?"

"Hm?"

"Cuddle pile? I think I heard Hunk shuffling around in his room."

Pidge felt Lance laugh silently into her shoulder and she smiled in relief. He needed to grieve, and to grieve he needed his friends. That's how Lance operated.

"Yeah," he said, his voice muffled by her shirt. "Yeah, I think that'd be nice."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's a voltron fanfic without some Langst? Also, sorry for the shorter chapter, I've been on vacation!
> 
> Speaking of, I won't be able to upload a chapter for the next two or three weeks, depending on when I get to write. I'll be ten hours away for two weeks for band, so the fanfic will have to wait a little. But don't worry! Chapter 5 will come!
> 
> Thanks for being patient with me and all the wonderful reviews I've received. They never fail to put a smile on my face :)


	5. The Therapeutic Properties of Coffee and Wrecking a Training Dummy

Pidge was at the diner way too early.

The place was pretty much empty. A disheveled man in his forties sat at the bar, gripping a glass of orange juice like it was a mug of beer… or something much stronger. He was on his fourth glass. A woman with frizzy gray hair and way too much blue eyeshadow worked the counter, quenching the man's unlimited thirst for orange juice.

The woman running the counter walked up to Pidge at her lonely table, carrying a notepad and a pen. "What can I get for you, hun?"

"Coffee, please."

The woman, whose nametag read 'Susan,' jotted down a few words on her notepad with a nod. "Is that all?"

Pidge nodded and the woman walked back into the kitchen.

She hadn't slept at all last night. Three days had definitely  _not_  been enough to wind down and prepare herself for another encounter with her old bullies. Memories of their torment had made their way back into her dreams; their faces appearing on galra generals, Lotor and Zarkon's faces appearing on their bodies, Haggar pulling back her hood to reveal Angela's piercing gaze and wide grin. For the first time in her entire life, Pidge admitted to someone that it hadn't been her falling off the playset that broke her wrist in fifth grade. Keith's reaction could be described as nothing other than cold rage when she had confessed that long-kept secret to him two nights ago after a particularly bad nightmare. She had genuinely thought that he was about to go Blade of Marmora on Chris.

Pidge squeezed her eyes shut against the memory. She couldn't even remember what the actual breaking part felt like anymore, just the fear she felt as Chris and his stupid group of friends laughed at her tear-streaked face while she cradled her wrist. And all the while Angela had watched on, expression nothing more than a light smile and calculating eyes.

She had never told anyone that it was him before Keith, not even Matt. The stupid scar on her wrist from when the worst of it had been repaired had been a constant reminder of her coverup for Chris, and yet she still never admitted it.

At some point, Susan set a pot of coffee on her table along with a mug, some creamer, and some sugar. Pidge added half a packet of sugar and a few drops of cream. Just sweet enough to not gag at the bitter taste, but black enough so she didn't get a sugar rush. Perfect.

Pidge had been thinking of reasons why all these past incidents had been coming back to haunt her over the last few days. For some reason, Pidge realized the other night while lying in bed, being away from the battle didn't help mental health- it  _hurt_  it.

As Pidge sipped her coffee, Angela and her group walked into the diner, scattering all thoughts of past traumas. After a few moments they spotted her and made their way to the table.

"Hey Katie!" Angela greeted cheerfully, setting her laptop on the table. G-boy slid into the booth next to her, grinning, and Pidge pushed herself closer to the wall. Angela and Chris sat down across from her and the other girl who she still didn't know the name of pulled a chair up to the end of the table. Pidge was trapped.

No, she wasn't trapped. She was just getting food with…  _friends._ Pidge took another drink of her coffee. She could do this. "So, did you download those programs?"

Angela pursed her lips and gave her what looked like a damsel-in-distress sort of look. Pidge quirked an eyebrow. "Well, you see, I was able to download one, but then the stupid computer crashed again!"

Pidge restrained herself from sighing heavily and opted for clenching her teeth instead. She grabbed the computer and, after a bit of working on it, determined that  _somehow_  it was in a worse state than she had left it before.  _Of course it is,_  she reminded herself,  _you trusted Angela with it._  "Somehow, you made it worse."

Angela frowned. "But I did what you asked!" Her voice pitched up high on the last word, grating on Pidge's already tested nerves. Suddenly the fluorescents seemed a bit too bright and the metal table a bit too cold.

Pidge opened the files and searched for the anti-malware program. It didn't take long to find the problem: it was the wrong program. Somehow, some way, Angela had downloaded the totally wrong file, and it had given her  _more_  viruses. Pidge clenched her fists. "You downloaded the wrong program."

"That's not possible! I downloaded the exact one that you told me to!" Angela exclaimed, her voice pitching up high once again, just like it used to when she would tell everyone around them that it wasn't her fault, it was  _Katie's_. Pidge grit her teeth again.

She shook her head and opened her mouth to reply, knowing whatever was about to come out wasn't going to be nice, but was saved by Susan walking up to the table. Pidge took it as an opportunity to scan the files she could access while they ordered. Most everything on the computer was infected now; the only thing she could get to work properly was the webcam and microphone, and even then it was shoddy at best.

Pidge knew it was a bad idea to continue to meet with them, but damn it if she didn't hate to leave a project unfinished. It had always been a little pet peeve of hers, and this stupid computer problem was no different. She closed her eyes and let out a slow breath. When she reopened them, Susan was gone and the others were staring at her. "I'm going to have to take this home," Pidge said slowly, deliberately. This was a bad decision, her logical brain reminded her, but she couldn't just not finish this. That wasn't how she  _worked_. "I'm sorry, but I can't trust you to do this right."

Angela's eyebrows drew together, but after a few moments she nodded. "Yeah, okay." She turned to Chris. "Do you think this is the best decision?"

Well, that wasn't like the Angela she remembered at all. She never asked others for their opinions. Pidge quirked an eyebrow again, but let it fall when she saw Angela set her hand on top of Chris's.  _Ah_ , Pidge remarked to herself,  _so that's why._

Chris shrugged but nodded. "Yeah, sure."

Angela nodded again and then turned back to Pidge. "Okay, you can take it, but I want it back as soon as possible. We can meet here again."

Pidge nodded and closed the laptop. Thank God everything was going fast. Angela pulled out her phone. "Here, what's your phone number so we know when to meet up?"

She froze. Phone number. Pidge didn't  _have_  a phone number. She floundered for a few moments. "I uh… I broke my phone."

Angela's overly-cheery smile fell. "Oh, well… email?"

What was her email? It had been a year since she had ever needed to remember the fact. Pidge wracked her brain when it hit her. She quickly typed it in on Angela's phone and shoved the laptop into her bag. "Well, good to see you, but I should be going!"

"We haven't even gotten our food," G-boy remarked with a sly grin. "Stay a while."

Pidge clenched her teeth. "No, I have to go," she said with as much ice as she could. Thankfully, G-boy understood and backed down, sliding out of the booth to let her out without another word.

Pidge paid at the counter and hurried out of the diner without another word.

One more time. That's all she'd allow herself with them. Just one more time.

* * *

 

It had been all too easy to ruin that laptop even more. Just a click on the wrong thing, a download of the wrong file, and playing the part of the ditsy girl who knew nothing about computers.

Well, that last part wasn't entirely false. Angela really didn't know much about computers, but she knew how to act. It was her older brother that knew everything there was to know about computers. Andrew had been plenty happy to help her wreck the stupid thing even more while leaving the microphone and webcam relatively untouched.

They weren't exactly breaking the law, per se, since it was Angela's laptop that Katie was using, but she knew that if Katie caught on to her plan, she'd be in major trouble.

But she had to know. She had to know what was going on, and the only way she could truly get some clues is if she was able to see and hear into Katie's house, even if it was only for small snippets of time. She'd get what she needed fed directly to her real laptop, and then she'd have enough evidence to confront Katie.

Things hadn't gone exactly accordingly. Katie didn't have a phone, for whatever reason, so she couldn't text her whenever she wanted which was a bit of a hindrance, but that wasn't the biggest deal. An email would work fine for contacting her when needed.

None of the others knew, but she would tell them once she had the evidence to back it up. Katie was going to be exposed and Angela would be hailed as the hero she always knew she was destined to be.

Angela smirked to herself. Everything was going just how she wanted it.

* * *

 

It was when she ripped open the third makeshift training dummy that Keith entered the basement of her parent's mini-mansion.

Pidge had never been one for letting her frustration out by training, but she supposed it was a habit she picked up while stuck on earth with no way to work on anything technical except for Angela's stupid shitty laptop.

The training dummies were almost useless. They were made out of pillows and sandbags and whatever other discarded materials they were able to salvage and could barely take a hit from any of their bayards. Pidge's especially tore through them, the electric shock of hers burning through much of what they were made of. She tried to imagine they were Galra robots to help her focus more on true training rather than just beating at them blindly, but the faces of Angela and her friends kept popping up in her mind.

Pidge hated that it was more satisfying to imagine they were the dummies.

When did she get so violent?

"You okay Pidge?" Keith leaned against the wall, eyeing the burnt carcasses of the sandbag and pillow figures.

Pidge sighed and let her bayard disappear back into her armor. It was nice wearing the uniform again, and the familiar weight of the bayard in her hand was oddly comforting. "Yeah, I'm okay."

Keith raised an eyebrow, and Pidge sighed again. "Okay, maybe not."

He pushed off the wall and picked up a training dummy off the floor, throwing it into the pile of the ones he and the others already destroyed. "We keep having this conversation," he remarked, tossing another dummy into the pile. "I feel like you're stuck in a loop."

"I know, I know," Pidge replied. She fidgeted with her hands, a nervous habit that sometimes acted as the only tell-tale sign that she didn't feel okay. "I can't do  _anything_  Keith. I can't go paladin-warrior Pidge on them because I'll draw attention and I can't stand up to them as Katie because they don't  _listen_  to Katie." She ran a hand through her hair. "I feel like I'm two different people."

A steadying hand settled on her shoulder. "Trust me, if anyone understands what it's like to feel like two different people at once, it's me," Keith reminded, squeezing her shoulder. "I get it. I know the feeling exactly."

"Yeah, I know," Pidge walked over to the last destroyed dummy and tossed it into the pile. Somewhere in the back of her mind she was reminded of just how strong she had become. "I promise if I need to talk to someone, I'll come get you, but right now I need to be alone."

Keith nodded, fully understanding and, after a small smile in her direction, left the basement.

Pidge took off her armor and put it on the makeshift armor mannequin reserved for her, leaving only the black form-fitting suit she wore under it. With a deep sigh, she grabbed the laptop and headed up the stairs.

"Hey Matt!" She called into the house, hoping he'd hear her.

Luckily, he peeked his head around the corner leading to the kitchen. "Yeah?"

"Wanna help me fix a laptop?"

The expression on his face was one of both complete relief and utter excitement. He nodded enthusiastically and joined her walking to her room.

Some quality time with her brother doing what they loved- working with technology- would maybe help with her frustration better than tearing apart training dummies. And hey, maybe they'd finally fix the stupid computer.

* * *

 

They had been flying to nowhere for what felt like thousands of movements, and he was getting tired of seeing nothing but empty space and distant stars.

It was nothing but anger and revenge-seeking that kept him going. He had been disgraced, banished. He and his crew were considered nothing but savages and every commander, fighter, or anything else within every galaxy had orders to kill on sight if they were seen outside of their designated area of banishment.

He was starting to go insane. They were only able to travel whenever no other ship was nearby and it felt like they had taken millions of detours to avoid planets and bases. They were going in circles, with no exact destination other than the knowledge that what they were searching for  _definitely_  wasn't in the Ulippa system.

A sharp pang of pain raced through his head, and he doubled over, rubbing his temples. That stupid icepick like pain was driving him insane as well. It came and went, sometimes far more frequent than others, but not a day went by that he didn't experience it. And there was always a dull ache in the back of his head. Honestly, he was surprised he hadn't killed a member of his crew out of sheer frustration at their entire situation yet.

"Sir!"

He turned around to find one of his lead navigators standing behind him, saluting. He motioned for the navigator to speak.

"A signal has popped up from a planet a few star systems away. We believe we've found it." The navigator held out a scanner, showing a blinking dot in the middle of a galaxy. The name of the planet shown by the dot blinked in time with it at the bottom.

He grinned. Finally, they were getting somewhere. "Very good," he crooned. "Very good indeed."

He looked up from the scanner. He would do this. He would finally be able to return home with honors untold. That stupid princeling bastard Lotor and the witch Haggar may have ruined everything for him, but what would Sendak say if he returned with nothing other than his most precious desire? The Fire of Purification would welcome him and his crew with open arms and, once they took back the Galra empire, he'd be made into nobility, or a high ranking general. He'd be revered throughout the universe.

Everything was falling into place at long last.

He grinned even wider, a malicious thing that was so wide it was like it split his face in two and bared every tooth.

"Set all trackers to Earth," Throk snarled, eyes sparkling. "We are going to take Voltron for ourselves."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all! Thanks for putting up with the long wait between these past two chapters! The breaks between chapters hopefully won't be as long now, but they may be a bit more sporadic than before as summer marching band (my senior year of it!) kicks off soon. I'll try to stay on top of things.
> 
> Oh boy, are things getting interesting now. I didn't expect all the love and support this fic is receiving and I'm soooo glad everyone is enjoying it so much! Every review makes my day.
> 
> Note the summary change. It's a minor detail but is now more all-inclusive to the plot rather than just the first chapter. Also, if you look at the bottom of the summary, I've added a short update notice to the top. Yes, this fic is now considered an alternate canon to season 7 after the recent revelations of San Diego Comic Con. Nothing is changing, just the classification of this particular fanfiction.
> 
> Thanks for reading! Drop a review if you'd so like.
> 
> Also, who caught the Gravity Falls reference I slipped in?


	6. See You Saturday

_Blackness stretched for endless miles. Not even a star lit the way. There had been people there with her but now there wasn't and she was alone. Alone. Dark and alone._

_She tried to move, kick, scream. The sound choked her in throat. She tasted blood._

_Eyes blinked open in the darkness, closed, open, closed, open. Watching her. Waiting._

_She screamed but it was swallowed by the void. She was going to die and it would be alone and no one would ever find her._

_Blackness constricted her, poured into her mouth and down her throat, into her eyes and ears, suffocating her, inky, thick blackness and-_

"Katie!"

Pidge jolted up with a scream. She was in her bed. It was dark, but it wasn't the suffocating dark. She was in her  _bed._ There was no endless void, no loneliness, no death on the horizon. She was in bed.

She attempted to catch her breath, which was coming in quick but labored pants. Her heart was racing and her chest felt like an elephant was sitting on it. Everything was spinning like she had been holding her breath a little too long. Had she been holding her breath? It felt like it.

The familiar, yet still disgusting, metallic taste of blood filled her mouth. Her cheek was bleeding. When did it start bleeding?

"Pidge…"

Pidge jumped. Suddenly, she noticed another figure sitting on her bed, closer to the end. In a blind panic, she groped her bedside table in the darkness for her bayard. Who the  _hell_  was in her bedroom and why had they not  _knocked_  and-

A light shone from the figure's hand, illuminating their face.

"Hey, it's okay," said Keith, face illuminated by the soft yellow glow of a flashlight running out of battery.

Pidge ran her hands down her sweaty face. "God, Keith, what the hell…" She felt warm, too warm, and kicked the sheets off the bed.

She squeezed her eyes shut. The remaining images of the dark void from her nightmare still burned behind her eyelids. She'd never forget those few days, hours, weeks, minutes, whatever they were that they sat in the empty void of space with what felt like no hope of survival. Those moments haunted Pidge, and she knew they would for a very long time. God, she was so messed up in the head.

"You alright?" Keith asked, his voice an anchor for her racing mind.

Pidge steadied her breathing. "Yeah, yeah, I'll be okay." She took a deep breath and loosed it slowly. How to distract herself, take her mind off the nightmare? "Why'd you call me Katie?"

"You weren't waking up," Keith answered matter-of-factly.

Pidge nodded. Sometimes it took a shock to her system, like cold water or, apparently, hearing her real name, to wake her from an intense nightmare.

She glanced around her room. The light of the flashlight cast a dim glow over everything, making it feel just a bit safer. Her clock read 2 a.m. Fifth nightmare in five nights.

"Jeez, Keith, I'm sorry I woke you up," Pidge said sheepishly. She ran a hand through her hair. It felt tangled. She probably looked like a hot mess.

Keith shook his head. "It's okay." He set a hand on her arm, steadying it's shaking. When had she started shaking? "Do you need me to stay?"

As much as Pidge hated admitting it, she did. She could barely sleep alone anymore, ending up in someone else's room almost every night. Last night it had been Matt's, and the night before Lance's. Sometimes they weren't even awake when she tiptoed through their doors, instead finding her asleep on their floor the next morning.

It didn't take her long to decide. "Yeah, yeah. Please."

Keith nodded, a small smile gracing his lips.

Pidge fell asleep to Keith stroking her hair and humming softly, soothing her entire body down to its core and sending her into her first dreamless sleep of a long time.

And Keith probably wouldn't admit it, but when he woke up next to Pidge the next morning after having passed out from exhaustion, he realized the same.

* * *

Pidge hated Angela's laptop. It was stupid and purple and she had this dumb screensaver that put confetti all over the screen and then everything would crash. Basic earth technology was unbelievably slow compared to everything she had used in space, and now working with the laptop felt like a massive drag.

"Any luck?" Asked Matt, leaning in through her door frame. He took a bite of his bagel, eyebrows raised in anticipation.

Pidge shook her head. "Not really, no."

Matt hummed thoughtfully and walked over to her desk. He handed her a bagel and knelt down next to her chair. "Let me see."

Pidge gratefully passed the laptop over to her older brother and sat back with her bagel, which was making her mouth water in anticipation. She hadn't even realized how hungry she was after forgetting to eat dinner the night before.

After a few minutes of silence, save for Pidge's chewing, Matt shoved the laptop away from him and groaned in frustration. "The hell is wrong with this piece of junk? I can fix viruses that blow up space ships but can't fix a laptop?"

He was right. What the hell was wrong with it? Pidge hadn't seen anything like it, and she had literally stopped a living virus made from the code of her friend's  _arm_. It didn't make sense. None of it did.

"Okay, checklist," Pidge stated matter-of-factly, setting her bagel down. It was something the two of them had always done when they got stuck on a problem: list everything you know and everything that didn't make sense out loud. It helped them focus their thoughts as well as find any discrepancies they may have missed when working on it before.

Matt took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "Okay, this is a laptop that belongs to Angela Grenwold. The casing is purple."

Starting with the basics, grounding themselves. Pidge copied Matt's breathing. "The screen is also purple, and the screensaver is confetti and it makes the computer crash."

Matt nodded. "Therefore, the computer can't process a lot of information at once." Pidge nodded with him, and he continued. "Now, what doesn't work?"

Her head already felt clearer. She missed these interactions while in space. "Well, everything honestly."

Matt chuckled softly. "Okay, maybe we should start with what  _does_ work."

Pidge thought for a moment. "Well, the internet works sometimes."

Matt smiled. "Good start. The error sound works too."

They both fell silent. There had to be more, right? Pidge could've sworn that the computer was in better shape than this.

"Oh! The microphone works!" Matt interjected her thoughts excitedly.

Pidge sat up straighter, nodding enthusiastically. "Yeah, yeah!" She smiled. "And so does the camera, which is weird because why would  _those_  be untouched…" she trailed off, eyebrows drawing together.

"Yeah," Matt agreed warily, "why  _would_  those be untouched?"

Pidge's excitement faded into anxiety. Something was wrong, really wrong. Viruses didn't just leave two up front computer programs working smoothly when the computer couldn't even process a simple confetti screen saver. Her anxiety rose as she pulled the computer towards her. With shaky fingers, she scanned the camera and microphone files and feed, Matt reading right over her shoulders. Her eyes flew over words and numbers, looking for anything, anything at all-

"There," Matt pointed at a spot on the screen.

Pidge zeroed in on where he was pointing. It was a number, ticking upwards each second. It was a number, Pidge realized, that showed the exact time she had been working on the laptop this morning. Her eyes grew wide right before she slammed the computer screen shut.

Matt sucked in a sharp breath. "It's been recording us this entire time." Pidge put her head in her hands, but Matt shook her shoulder. "No, no, Katie, figure out where the feed is going."

Pidge pulled her head up and opened the laptop back up. It didn't take long to figure it out: the feed was all being sent back to a computer in town; more specifically to a computer in a neighborhood she had a gut feeling was Angela's.

Pidge swore, low and creatively, as did Matt. She slammed her fist on her desk squeezing her eyes shut. How had she been so stupid? Of course Angela wouldn't just be kind to her for the sake of being kind. No, she needed information. She needed to prove something or discover something and be recognized. She needed the attention.

Angela knew that Katie Holt was Pidge Gunderson, MIA Galaxy Garrison Cadet. There was no other explanation.

In a moment of rage, Pidge faced the camera directly. "Hey, Angela, I know you're getting this. Why don't you meet me at the park near Mel's on Saturday afternoon for a good chit chat, yeah? We can discuss the situation of your laptop! Be there, or I'll find you," she shot the bird at the camera, "fucker."

Within seconds, she shut the entire system down.

Pidge leaned back in her chair, covering her face with her hands and groaning.

Matt asked, "Now what?"

Without moving, Pidge answered, "we wait until Saturday."

* * *

Throk didn't recognize any of the surrounding constellations anymore, which was a good sign. They were getting closer to their destination.

Research and eyewitness reports showed that this primitive planet didn't have much offense that could take out a galra cruiser, but they'd still have to be careful. The plan wasn't a full blown take over, since they were horribly outnumbered even with the planet's lowly defense systems and weaponry. Enough primitive bombs could make anything explode, technologically superior or not.

No, they needed something small and quiet. Throk and his best fighters and techs were going to take a small craft to the surface, dispose of the paladins, and take the lions without ever making a peep on anyone's radar.

It was the perfect plan, and the paladins would never see him coming. They'd be expecting an invasion, a full blown genocide of humans being carried out, not a quiet assassination.

It was perfect and deadly and beautiful.

Just four quintants until they arrived.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all! Sorry it's been a while, band is time consuming.
> 
> It's very late where I am right now, so I'll keep my notes brief.
> 
> This is considered an alternate canon to s7 but I will still incorporate parts of their travels to earth and other things into this fic, as you can see I've already started doing, just for a clarification!
> 
> Thanks for reading, and drop a review if you'd like! (I love getting them).
> 
> (P.S. the interaction between Pidge and Keith is meant to be taken as platonic)


	7. Conspiracy Theories and More Confrontation

The sweater Pidge wore didn't do much to block the chilly end-of-winter wind. She shivered and clutched the laptop bag tighter to her chest, using it to block the gusts of cool air.

She was starting to wonder if Angela would even show. She had never received a confirmation from the other girl, and it would be a lot like her to not show her sorry ass out of embarrassment… or maybe even fear. Pidge liked to imagine that her old bullies now feared her, but she didn't let herself dream long. Wishful thinking wasn't going to get her anywhere.

Another gust of wind rustled the leaves of the large oak trees, the only sound interrupting the quiet serenity of the park. Matt sat next to her on the bench, running his thumb up and down his retracted staff, something he liked to do when he was anxious or agitated. They had been silent for a while. Waiting.

Pidge took a deep breath in through her nose and let it out slowly, listening to the wind. Despite herself, everything she'd been through, her heart was racing. Confrontation was never her forte in the first place, and without the guise of being a universe-defending warrior, she didn't have anything to fall back on for confidence.

Matt put his hand on her shoulder without a word, sensing her agitation. Pidge gratefully leaned into the touch. "It's kinda weird, isn't it?"

"Hm?" Matt questioned.

"To go from space to earth. To go from universe problems to personal problems." She leaned her head against her older brother's shoulder, savoring the warmth he provided. "It's a bit of a culture shock."

Matt nodded, but didn't reply, continuing to run his thumb along the miniature staff.

The sound of grass crunching interrupted their comfortable silence, and Pidge scowled before turning her head to meet whoever had disturbed them.

Angela, in all her fiery, red-headed glory, stalked into the park, followed closely by Chris, much to Pidge's dismay. Luckily, however, the other two followers were nowhere to be seen. Angela intended to keep this meeting quiet, only bringing one "witness" for defense. Good, Pidge wanted as few people a part of this as possible.

She stood, Matt not far behind. Pidge didn't miss how Chris faltered when her brother stood, no matter how quick he covered it up. Her mouth quirked up. Matt  _was_  considerably taller now, over six feet tall at least, and along with his not-so-well-hidden muscular frame he was pretty intimidating.

Angela stopped a few feet away from Pidge, chin angled slightly upwards in defiance. She stared the two of them down with piercing green eyes. "So."

Pidge squared her shoulders. "So."

Angela gestured to Matt. "He's alive." She crossed her arms. "Explain."

Pidge grit her teeth. Right to the interrogation, then. "I owe you nothing."

Angela laughed once, short and crisp. "You owe a lot of people a lot of things, Katie. The police, the galaxy garrison, the government…" She listed them on her fingers as she spoke, grinning. "Everyone really, but for right now I'll do."

Pidge shook her head. "I'll say it again. I owe you nothing."

Angela pursed her lips. "You brought him here," she gestured to Matt. "I could film him right now, take this to the police."

Pidge stalked up to the other girl, and she must've looked downright murderous, because Angela's feral smile faltered. Pidge shoved the laptop bag against Angela's chest, who stumbled backwards. "Why would you think that you have  _any_ right to pry into my life?"

Angela gingerly set the laptop bag on the ground, not bothering to answer. Pidge opened her mouth to snap at her again, but Chris cut her off. "Do you think that we would just ignore when someone fakes their own death?"

Pidge choked. "You think he  _faked_  his death?"

Angela crossed her arms. "What I think is that for some unexplained reason your dead brother is still walking and your face showed up on my TV screen as 'missing- presumed dead,' yet here you are." She stalked forward, Chris joining her. The two of them both had the advantage of height over Pidge, and they stared down at her, making her want to shrink back. "So, what is it,  _Pidge?_ " She spat the name like it was poison. "Money? Power? Are you in some sort of secret government program?"

Pidge's thoughts stopped racing at the last accusation, and she choked out a laugh. "Secret government program?" Did Angela realize how ridiculous she sounded?

Angela scowled. "My family is not filled with idiots. We see what facilities like the Galaxy Garrison are hiding."

Pidge snorted, but she couldn't help feeling a twinge of nervousness. Angela really didn't know how close she was to the truth. "You sound like an insane conspiracy theorist." She backed up a step, anything to get away from the pair that was just a little too close for comfort. "I never faked my own death."

It had slipped her mind that Angela's family was like this. Her father had been the leader of a large group of parents that were very anti-Galaxy Garrison. They withdrew their students from the Garrison recruitment days and even went so far as to protest them. Pidge had written off Angela's probing questions as mindless curiosity over the past two weeks but now, remembering what her family believed, it made sense why Angela was so involved in Pidge's secrets.

"That still doesn't explain  _him_." Angela jabbed an accusatory finger in Matt's direction. "He's supposed to be  _dead._ "

Pidge had no explanation for that and had foolishly hoped that Angela would mainly focus on Pidge and not her brother. She had gone over a million possible stories over the past few days explaining why he was still walking and each made less sense than the last. Thankfully, Matt saved Pidge from having to answer by stepping forward and placing a hand on her shoulder. "Our ship went offline on the outer reaches of the solar system. Takashi Shirogane never crashed the ship; the Garrison could only assume that we were dead. They are not yet ready to announce it to the public."

He delivered it without a hitch in his voice. The lie flowed off his tongue so smoothly that even Pidge found herself wanting to believe him. Being a rebel officer really had taught him some valuable skills.

Angela didn't buy it. She laughed loudly, startling Chris, who had nodded along to Matt's lie. "You expect me to take that as an answer? Even if it were true, it would still confirm my suspicions that the Garrison hides things from the public." Chris gave her a wide-eyed look, but quickly faced the siblings and nodded vigorously.

"I expect you to take nothing as an answer," Matt replied calmly. "You can choose to believe me or not, but good luck getting anyone on your side if you don't."

Angela's cheeks heated up- anger and embarrassment mixing together- and Pidge smiled sweetly at her.

"You're both insane," Angela snapped.

Pidge raised her eyebrows. " _We're_  insane? You gave me a bugged laptop to fuel some crazy conspiracy theory. I could make an argument that you're the insane one. And a criminal." She added as an afterthought.

"You're the criminals!" She spat back, ditching the cool exterior she so often wore. "Your stories are see-through. You still can't explain why you have Lance McClain  _and_  Hunk Garrett in your home!" She was getting flustered, her face turning bright red as she spluttered over her words. This was extremely unlike the calm, calculating, and collected Angela that Pidge had gotten used to.

Maybe it was because this was so unlike the Katie that Angela had gotten used to.

"I think we're done here," Pidge spoke as calmly as she could. "Good luck salvaging any of the videos. Or your laptop, for that matter." She smirked. "Viruses are surprisingly easy to transfer."

Angela's face was the color of her hair as Pidge turned around. "We are not done!"

Pidge smiled at Matt, who grinned back. Hopefully this was the last they'd ever see Angela and the rest of her stupid group. She continued walking out of the park without a word to the other girl.

Finally. She could finally leave them behind. This wasn't the closure she had pictured, but it was closure nonetheless. Pidge had left her impression on Angela, and without any proof to back up her claims, the Holt siblings would be safe from any sort of government investigations.

Pidge almost laughed out loud. The weight of everything Angela's group had done to her over the years had been with her for so long, and now she felt it lifting. She'd finally be free of them.

Her reverie was cut short by a flash of purple light and a cry of pain. Next to her, Matt stumbled backwards, clutching his shoulder. Pidge gripped his arm to steady him and moved to examine whatever he was covering with his hand.

The fabric of his shirt's shoulder was smoking and charred, the skin underneath it not faring much better. His arm hung limply at his side but was thankfully unburned. Before she could ask what just happened, his eyes widened at something behind her and he knocked her to the ground with a hiss of pain, shielding her with his own body.

Pidge rolled out from under him just as a flash of purple light flew over them. She  _knew_  that light, that sound. It haunted her nightmares, her daydreams, every waking moment she let her mind wander. The explosions, the empty void of space, the adrenaline rush as the threat of death breathed down her neck, and all the familiar feelings of battle came rushing into her mind. It threatened to overwhelm her, but she forced herself to push the thoughts back.

She was distantly aware of Angela's shrill scream and Chris's shout a few feet behind them, but all Pidge could focus on was the purple-skinned man standing at the entrance to the park, wearing a too-familiar grin and wielding a too-familiar weapon.

"Hello, green paladin! Sorry to interrupt." Throk, a Galra general she had believed to be long dead, sneered. He aimed his blaster at her. "But I need you dead."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all! Sorry it's been a bit. Senior year has been a doozy so far.
> 
> Well, now we get into the real fun part of the fic. Everyone always loves a good reveal scene, and my favorite thing to imagine is always characters showing up people that don't like them. For some reason it's just really satisfying.
> 
> Drop a review! They always brighten my day.


	8. Not a Fair Fight

Pidge heard the gun charge up and fire before she saw the blast. The purple light shot over her head as she dove to the ground, taking Matt with her. He cried out as he landed on his burned shoulder but rolled away from the line of fire anyways. Fighting through the pain, something they had all been forced to learn to do.

She felt the heat of the second blast as it flew by her face and into the dirt, just a hair's breadth from a killing shot. Too close. Matt scrambled up, using his good arm to yank Pidge off the ground. Angela screamed, and it felt like ice water being dumped on Pidge's head.  _There were defenseless people here._

Matt locked eyes with her and nodded once.

Without thinking, breathing, hesitating, Pidge sprinted across the park to where she left Chris and Angela, both now cowering behind a park bench. She had nothing. No armor, no weapons, no defense. There was no way to get the rest of team Voltron here in time.

They had to be smart.

The hair on Pidge's neck stood on end, and she leapt to the left just as another blast whizzed by. Matt shouted at Throk, hopefully drawing his attention as Pidge sprinted to the bench.

The icy wind burned her throat and stung her eyes, but she didn't slow down. She vaulted over the park bench without a second thought and landed next to the two cowering teens.

"What the hell?!" Angela spluttered, scrambling away from where Pidge landed. Her face was white with fear, pupils dilated. Chris didn't look much better, knuckles white as his face as he gripped the ground with what looked like all the strength he had.

The ground shook as another blast buried itself in the dirt a little too close for comfort. They didn't have time for explanations. "Get up, we have to get you out of here."

They didn't budge. Pidge grit her teeth, "we have to  _go_."

Angela blinked "my mom dropped us off."

Pidge felt her chest tighten. They couldn't drive? They had to be old enough, had to be able to… no, no, there was no time to question. If Angela couldn't escape with her own car, then… they'd have to use Pidge's father's car that was parked on the other side of the park, behind Throk and Matt.

A car they weren't going to be able to reach.

_Shit._

Pidge cursed and grabbed Angela's phone from where it sat on the ground. "I need you to call my house."

Angela spluttered, so Pidge grabbed her hand and made her unlock the phone. She punched in the number and shoved it back into Angela's hands. "Tell whoever picks up that it's a code purple and Pidge and Matt need help."

She stood. Matt was not faring well, barely dodging the blasts. His arm hung limply at his side, and Pidge could just barely make out the burn from before, charred and red and black. Throk was grinning and firing lazily, toying with him. Pidge grit her teeth.

"Where are you going?" Chris demanded. Angela still stared at the phone in her hands. "You have to protect us!"

"The only way to protect you is to deal with him," Pidge fired back, jamming her thumb towards the battle raging just feet away. "Angela, call them  _now_."

To her credit, Angela pressed the call button and held the phone up with shaking hands.

Pidge took a step, but the bulky sweater she wore suddenly felt cumbersome. It fell low, past mid-thigh, and would fare sorely in a fight. With a sigh, she pulled it off, leaving only the tank top she wore underneath for extra warmth. The icy air bit at her skin, but it was better than her sweater being the cause of their destruction.

Without another word to the others, she sprinted back to Matt. As she neared, a blast grazed his leg, and he fell with a cry. Throk grinned wider, and Pidge made a break for it. Seeing her coming, Matt tossed his retracted staff.

Pidge barely caught it, the rod extending before she had a chance to grip it fully. She wasn't used to staff. It felt large; far too big for her small hands. The thing was nearly twice her size, but it was all she had.

Her breath hitched as she beheld what stood before her. Throk was tall, taller than Lotor it felt, and his muscular frame loomed over her. A wild sort of glee lit up his eyes, and Pidge realized that he would not stop at just killing her if given the chance.

This was not a fair fight.

"So, the green paladin has come at last," Throk crooned, brandishing his blaster. Pidge bared her teeth at him. "Oh, so fiery!"

He fired the next breath, and only Pidge's reflexes from countless battles saved her from it. Throk was fast, and she knew that this was not his fastest. He was a battle-hardened general, trained even more than Pidge was.

Pidge swung with the staff, but he dodged with ease, grinning still. She swung again, almost colliding with his ankle. He fired, and the blast flew past her face. Without missing a beat, she jumped and thrust the staff towards him. It slammed into his stomach and the air left his body with an  _oomph._ He stumbled back and, coughing, fired again, steely rage replacing the triumphant glee in his eyes.

She didn't know how long their fight lasted. The number of blasts fired blurred together until she lost count entirely. Her surroundings faded out, all other sounds as well, until her focus was only on the Galra in front of her and the staff in her hands.

Pidge spun the staff deftly, managing a hit on his right arm. He lost his grip on the blaster for barely a second, but Pidge didn't hesitate. She spun the staff around and swung it into his other arm. The blaster clattered to the ground with a metallic  _thunk._

Her triumph was cut short as his fist collided with her face, sending her sprawling to the ground. Throk swept up the blaster and fired at her head. Pidge rolled, and the purple laser hit the ground with a low rumble. She shoved the staff up and out, forcing the end of it into his throat. A choking sound escaped his lips and he stumbled back.

Pidge jumped up and swung, but he ducked and dove towards Matt.

Throk held the blaster to Matt's head. Pidge moved to lunge, but the sound of it charging up stopped her in her tracks. Matt's eyes were completely calm, his face a steel mask of emotionlessness, but his hands shook at his sides, the only betrayal of his fear.

No.  _No._

"As fun as it is fighting with you, this isn't going well for me," Throk choked out. His voice sounded raspy, and Pidge couldn't help the twinge of satisfaction, clawing out through the fear boiling within her, at knowing that she caused that. "You'll surrender, in time, but you'll need proper… motivation." He looked at Matt and grinned. "This will do."

Pidge barely managed to scream before the two of them disappeared entirely, Matt's cry of alarm cut short.

The staff slipped out of her hands and hit the ground with a dull thud. Her eyes remained fixed on the spot where they stood seconds ago.

_What?_

How? How did Throk have teleportation abilities? The only two things she'd ever seen with teleportation were Kosmo and the Druids, but here he was, performing a disappearing act. Pidge choked back a cry as her knees gave out and she sank to the ground.

_Matt._  Throk had Matt. Matt, who barely escaped Galra imprisonment before, was  _gone_.

A choked sound forced its way out of her throat. She crawled towards the empty soil, still lingering with barely perceptible warmth and the familiar scent of Matt—fresh-cut wood and well-worn clothes.

She had no idea where Throk was or where he could possibly be. He could do any number of things to Matt, and every moment he spent there was a risk. He could be held prisoner, tortured, forced to fight for their entertainment… Pidge had no way of telling how many Throk commanded. Another sob escaped her lips.

Images flashed before her—images of Matt screaming, of Matt fighting for his life, of Matt dying. Her body began to shake, whether from the ice-cold wind or the fear she didn't know.

Pidge stared at the spot where her brother, her best friend, her comfort, stood just moments before, and wept.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I know it's been a bit, bandtober was busy this year, busier than normal, but it's done now! Hopefully we'll be back to regular updates soon.
> 
> Sorry for the shorter chapter, I know y'all have waited a long time, but the next one is already in the works and the wait should be wayyy shorter! However, reviews do help motivate me to write faster :).
> 
> Thanks for reading! Drop a review!
> 
> P.S. if you're 18 or older and live in the U.S., GO VOTE!


	9. Promise

"K-katie?" A voice- Angela- spoke tentatively.

Pidge didn't respond, but her grip tightened on the grass.

"They're on their way… your friends," Angela whispered.

Pidge was suddenly acutely aware of the stinging on her jaw. She touched it with a shaking hand; it came away red. More blood had dripped onto her leg and the grass below. She stared at it in a daze, not quite comprehending what she saw.

"Katie… please," Angela's voice was barely more than a breath.

Pidge forced her head to turn, to look at the two terrified teens behind her. They weren't used to this, she reminded herself, they didn't see battles and fights. They needed reassurance.

But Pidge couldn't force herself to give it. "What." The word was a rasp.

A hand, reaching towards her face, the slice on her cheek, but withdrawn as soon as it moved. Pidge blinked.

Angela swallowed. "That looks bad."

With slow, deliberate movements, Pidge stood. Her gaze met Angela's, who steeled herself. "Explain."

Another drop of blood rolled off her cheek. "He took Matt."

"Who is 'he?'" Chris asked, barely masking the shaking in his voice.

Pidge turned back to the spot. "Throk. Galran general." She picked up the staff and stared at it. "We thought he was dead."

Angela cocked her head. "Who-"

Light flashed in Pidge's peripheral vision, and there was Keith- dressed in full paladin armor and holding his bayard- with Kosmo. He looked like he climbed out of bed only minutes before, hair pulled back in a sloppy ponytail and eyes wide. Angela shrieked at his sudden appearance. "Where's Matt."

With shaking hands Pidge held out the staff. "Throk took him."

Keith swore. He grabbed the staff from her hand. "I thought Throk was  _dead_. How did he even get here?"

Pidge shrugged, mind still reeling from her fight. She felt as if she was in a daze, everything passing by like it was an old, blurred movie. Keith's expression softened when he saw her face. He put a hand on her shoulder. "We'll get him back, okay? I promise."

Pidge nodded.

"Let's go back to the house," Keith said gently. He turned to Chris and Angela and said in a much harsher tone. "You're coming with us."

They protested, but Keith silenced them with a look. "You both need to be treated for shock." Without another word he grabbed their arms and they were teleporting.

The free-falling feeling of traveling through nothing didn't last long. As soon as her feet hit the solid ground of her living room, Pidge's knees gave out. Keith barely managed to catch her under her arms before she hit the ground.

Lance's lanky form slid into view from around the corner. His hair stuck up in all directions, jacket half on and wrinkled. He, much like Keith, looked like he just got out of bed. He took one look at their group and his eyes went wide. "Oh shit, what-"

Keith pulled Pidge up a little more and slung her arm over his shoulders. "Get the others."

Lance's expression smoothed and with a curt nod he left the room.

Keith gently sat Pidge on the couch. She slumped over, vision blurring around the edges with stinging tears. She bit them back. Now was not time for crying.

But she couldn't help it. Her brother was  _gone_ , stuck in a Galra prison or ship or anything with a sadistic general. She knew, no matter how brave a face Matt put on, he would not be able to handle another stay as a prisoner. What he went through the first time, he still couldn't talk about. Just snippets here and there before he was overwhelmed and had to shut out the memories again.

A tear escaped her eye, making a bitter trail down her dirt-stained and bloody cheek. A reassuring hand rested on her shoulder—Keith.

It didn't take long for the team to gather. Everyone had the same expression, anxiety mixed with steely determination. Pidge loosed a breath and steadied herself. No use in delaying the inevitable. "Throk tracked us to earth."

A mixture of swears was their response.

"He attacked us—me, Matt, Angela, and Chris I mean—in the park. Matt had his staff, but that was it," Pidge continued. "We-"

"W-where," her mother's shaking voice broke in. When had she come in the room? "Where is Matt?"

Suddenly, Pidge was aware of nothing else except Colleen and Sam Holt. They stood, holding each other as if it was the only thing keeping them from collapsing. Their faces were white, eyes wide. Her mother's lip trembled. Pidge knew that they already knew the answer, but it didn't make it any less horrible to tell them.

She swallowed. "Throk took him."

Her mother's broken sob was the worst sound Pidge had ever heard. Her dad didn't look much better, but it was her mom that sent her over the edge.

Colleen Holt, who had lost everything—her husband and both of her children, believed dead in horrible accidents. Who had suffered through unimaginable pain and grief but through some miracle had survived and regained what she lost, sobbed against her dad's shoulder.

Pidge broke. She couldn't stop the tears this time. They tracked down her cheeks, burning.

Hunk, always empathetic, always looking for hope in bleak situations, choked back tears and said, "well, we'll just have to get him back then."

Pidge nodded, thankful for his optimism. Her dad excused himself with a murmur and led her mom out of the room, rubbing soothing circles on her back.

Pidge swallowed against the tears. No time to delay. "We need to move fast." She scooted forward. "I say we-"

"No," Allura interrupted gently. "You need to get cleaned up and we need to take care of them first." She nodded towards Chris and Angela, who were both pale.

"But-"

"No," Allura interrupted again, firmer this time. "That cut needs to be cleaned out immediately."

Pidge sighed. There was no arguing with her.

"I'll help," Hunk offered. He nodded towards her and went down the hall. Pidge stood and followed him out of the room.

He led her into a bathroom. She sat on the counter as he prepared his first aid supplies, humming softly as he worked.

When he touched her cut with a cloth, she hissed in pain. He winced apologetically. "Sorry, we've only got earth healing supplies here, not Altean."

Pidge nodded and gripped the counter. He continued his work, taking care to be as gentle as possible. When he was finished, he bandaged it and helped her off the counter. "There."

Pidge stared at the mirror and touched the large bandage. Her mind felt fuzzy, far away. Every breath was an effort.

Hunk pulled her into a hug. "It's going to be okay," he reassured. "It's going to be alright. We'll get him. I promise."

Pidge nodded against her tears and buried her head into Hunk's shirt. For all their sakes, she hoped he was right.

* * *

 

It took a while for Pidge to steady herself enough to leave the bathroom. When she returned, the planning was in full force. She contributed as much as she could to the conversation, but just saying one word took all her energy. Shiro gently reminded her that if she didn't feel up to speaking, she didn't have to. She just nodded in reply.

By the time everything was said and done, the team had decided that the best course of action was to lure Throk to them. Since they didn't know where he was, and they didn't have any way to track him, it would be impossible to attack him in his base. And with no lions to fall back on it would probably be suicide.

Lance agreed to be the bait, since he was the only one who had managed to shift his bayard so far. Keith may be the better swordfighter, but Lance's blaster and sword duo gave him a significant advantage in a fight. Once Throk showed up and engaged Lance in a fight, the team would ambush him and capture him, and then interrogate him.

It definitely wasn't their best plan, and plenty could go wrong, but it was all they had.

Pidge was exhausted, physically and mentally, by the time planning finished, but she had one more thing to take care of.

"Guys."

Chris and Angela jumped and turned around to face her. They had gone to the kitchen to eat something when the planning started, and now they sat at the table, looking haggard and afraid.

Pidge sighed. She couldn't let her old bitterness towards them get in the way of any of the team's plans, and she especially couldn't risk angering them and sending them off to expose the team to the authorities. She sat down across from them. "I owe you an explanation."

Angela nodded, but said nothing.

Pidge took a few deep breaths to calm her racing heart. Never. She had never imagined this happening in a million years.

"When the Kerberos mission went offline, it wasn't because they crashed," she began. "They were abducted by the Galra."

And then she told them everything. She told them of the Kerberos crews' imprisonment, of the Garrison covering it up. She told them of her sneaking into the Garrison as Pidge Gunderson, of Shiro's return, of finding the blue lion and the rest of Voltron.

_Everything._

When she was finished, they were wide eyed, but not with fear.

"So that's what we do, my team and I. Lead the war, protect the innocent, defend the universe." She looked them in the eyes. "That's our mission."

Angela swallowed. "Wow."

Chris shared her sentiment. "It sounds amazing."

Pidge chuckled softly. "It is and it isn't. War isn't glamorous, and sometimes you lose people and you get betrayed and you watch planets fall apart. Your friends die and your allies die and sometimes you get so close to death that you feel the end tugging you out of your body." She looked down at her hands. "But hell if it isn't amazing to fly through the universe at warp speed and see the millions of worlds that are just… out there. There's so many good things in the universe, so many reasons that we keep up the fight even when it's too much." She shook her head and looked back at them. "Sorry."

Angela swallowed. "No, no, it's… inspiring."

Pidge could've sworn she saw tears forming at the corner of the duo's eyes. The edge of her mouth lifted in the tiniest smile, but it didn't stay long. "Now the hard part." She leaned forward. "You can't tell anyone. Not your families, not your friends, not anyone."

Angela opened her mouth, but Pidge cut her off. "No, if you do, you could put everyone at risk, specifically yourselves. If we are exposed before we're ready, there is no way we can get Matt back, no way we'll be able to defend the earth, and you put yourself at risk for a targeted attack from Throk. If the government got ahold of us or our lions, we would have no way to protect you." She looked them in the eyes. "Telling anyone would be like putting a giant arrow over your head that says 'kill me! I'm right here!'"

Chris nodded vigorously, and for once Pidge was thankful that he was just a follower. Angela still seemed skeptical. "As… valiant… as your efforts are, this is dangerous. You're dangerous. You've led an alien to earth."

Pidge sighed. "Aliens were here long before we came. The Galra previously tried to attack Earth, but we led them away." Her tone hardened. "No weapon the government possess, no nuclear bomb or techy laser from the Garrison, is enough to stop Galra forces. Nothing, and I mean  _nothing_ , on Earth except for our lions will do anything to stop them." Her expression softened. "You have to believe me."

Angela swallowed again and sat back. "Okay. Okay."

Pidge breathed a sigh of relief. Thank God. "Thank you."

Angela nodded.

"Okay, I can have Keith take you both home if you absolutely promise not to tell anyone."

"I promise," Angela said. Chris echoed.

Pidge nodded, and not long after they were gone.

* * *

 

That night, Pidge flopped down on her bed and buried her face in her pillow and sobbed, all the day's grief and fear and anger finally catching up to her. She sobbed until she felt no more tears could come and then sobbed some more.

After a while, Keith entered her room. Lance followed. And Hunk and Allura and Shiro.

Surrounded by her team, Pidge sent a silent promise up to the sky, to wherever Matt was being held.

_I will find you, I will bring you home._

Somewhere far away, curled up in the corner of a dark cell, Matt Holt lifted his head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Another chapter for y'all. This one's a bit longer than the last few! It's also sadder! Huzzah!
> 
> In all seriousness, thank you guys so much for putting up with my sporadic updates. Senior year is chaos right now, but applications are drawing to a close, so hopefully I can de-stress soon. Just a few more music school and honors college applications to go!
> 
> Thank you for reading! Drop a review for me, it's how I keep my motivation to write thriving.
> 
> P.S. I'm super sick, so if some of this seems a little off in tone, I'm sorry! Majority of this was written in one sitting (a very sickly sitting), and I'm pretty out of it lol. It's been proofread many times though, I promise.


	10. Setup

"In position."

Lance's soft whisper came through Pidge's helmet, linked up to the communicator now residing in his pocket.

Pidge watched through the leaves, perched on the sturdiest branch she could find. Lance wore no armor, sporting only a thin sweater and jeans, his bayard just a few feet away behind the park bench.

They were positioned around the same park Throk attacked at a few days ago, everyone hiding except Lance. If she looked hard enough, Pidge could make out Keith's red helmet in a tall tree on the other side of the park, and she hoped that the cover of night would be enough to make Throk think that he was just a dead leaf.

Pidge's fingers drummed on her leg, the only outward sign of her anxiety. The plan had many holes and no backup, and Lance looked just as vulnerable as Matt. They couldn't make it look like a setup, Lance explained gently last night, rubbing Pidge's back after a nightmare. He couldn't wear his armor. But that didn't particularly help her nervousness.

She felt the team's anxiety rolling off them in waves. Even though she couldn't see them, Pidge knew that Hunk was biting his fingernails and Keith was grinding his teeth.

The brush rustled near the front of the park. A soft whirring sounded next to her, undoubtedly Hunk's bayard charging up. Lance tensed in the clearing, bracing his legs just barely to make a break for his bayard. Everyone held their breath.

The brush rustled again, and Pidge aimed her bayard, but it wasn't Throk who emerged.

An unknown Galra man grinned at Lance. In a flash, Lance grabbed his bayard and aimed the blaster at the man's head. "Who are you?"

The Galra man chuckled. "Kirak, member of Commander Throk's crew."

Lance's bayard whirred to life. "And where is Throk now?"

Kirak chuckled again. "I'm not here to fight you." Four Galra robotic sentries emerged from the trees behind him, flanking him.

Lance's finger tightened on the trigger. "I'll ask again: where is Throk?"

Kirak shrugged. "Going about his business. I'm here because he knew this is where you'd come to fight him." He glanced around the clearing. "You all can come out now. I'm aware that I'm not much of a fight against you."

Pidge cursed under her breath.

"Don't step out of hiding." Shiro's voice crackled through her helmet. "Not yet."

This wasn't going to plan. Where the hell was Throk and, more importantly, where the hell was  _Matt?_  Pidge's heart thundered in her chest.

Kirak did another once over of the clearing and sighed. "Alright, stay there for all I care." He glanced at something in his hand and grinned. "My time here is almost up anyways. I'm only here as a quick distraction."

Before Pidge could begin to wander what he meant, a distant boom reverberated through the park, followed by what felt like a minor earthquake. She grabbed onto the branch to keep from falling and stared in the direction of the sound.

A lone Galra ship floated in the distance, right above-

"Oh no," she whispered.

The familiar light of the tractor beam shone down from the ship. Floating steadily upwards in it was the blue lion.

It was a distraction. What they had thought was a trap for Throk was just to keep them away from the lions. They would never make it back in time, and even if they could none of the lions were charged enough to be operational. A bolt of white-hot panic shot through her.

Allura's gasp came through her helmet as she saw her lion. "No,  _no._ "

Their plan was shoddy, but Pidge never imagined it going this wrong. Throk's ship was completely visible, not even an inch of cloaking over it. Everyone on earth would know by the morning that aliens were here, and most importantly the Garrison would know. They were screwed.

Lance fired, his shot barely missing Kirak and imbedding in the head of the sentry just behind him. Kirak just grinned and pressed something on his wrist. Lance ducked just as a pod flew over his head. Kirak jumped in with ease and sped off with a wave and a laugh, leaving the final three robots.

Lance took them out with barely any effort as Hunk attempted in vain to shoot down the pod. Pidge jumped out of her tree and fired, but her grappler couldn't reach it in time. The paladins watched hopelessly as the pod sped off to the cruiser.

Lance was the first one to lose it.

* * *

Pidge's fist collided with the wall, but she barely felt the pain. Her eyes bored into the green lion's blank, empty ones, willing her to turn back on.

"Come on! Wake up!" She shouted for the umpteenth time. "Matt and the blue lion are fucking gone! Wake up!"

The lion didn't respond.

Pidge swore loudly, her voice cracking as tears welled in her eyes. It wasn't fair. None of this was fair. They'd limped their way home, billions of lightyears traveled, for everything to go to hell.

She'd been at this for over an hour; first coaxing, then begging, and then screaming at the green lion to  _wake up_  to no avail. None of the lions had even shown as much as a shimmer in their lifeless eyes, continuing to sit, unaware of the chaos unfolding around them. Pidge wasn't sure if they even knew Blue was gone.

It was only a matter of time before the Garrison came knocking down their door, wondering why a ship hovered over this house and flew away with a giant robotic lion. Pidge knew they'd all be arrested and all hopes of finding Matt quickly would be dashed.

Pidge threw her arms up and stormed out of the makeshift hangar, fighting back tears. She found herself in the kitchen, searching the fridge for something to eat.

Distantly, the doorbell rang, and a shout of "I'll get it!" came from her mom's office. Pidge braced herself to hear the Garrison commanding officers voices, but instead a familiar girl's voice floated down the halls. A few minutes later, Angela stood in the kitchen doorway.

"Why are you here," Pidge snapped. She didn't mean to sound so aggravated, but after shouting at the green lion for what felt like forever, she couldn't manage to sound nice.

Angela looked upset, which caught Pidge off guard. "Can I stay here for a bit?"

Pidge quirked an eyebrow.

Angela sighed. "I don't feel safe. I feel like he's going to come after me too, because I was in the park. Throk, I mean."

Oh.

Pidge wanted to say no. She still disliked Angela, and one apology wasn't going to make up for the years of torture that she and her group put Pidge through. But she knew that fear of being found all too well, and she couldn't just throw the other girl to the wolves. Pidge was a trained fighter. Angela was in high school.

"Yeah, sure, whatever."

Angela slumped in relief. She laughed breathily. "Thank you." She looked at Pidge. "I didn't tell anyone. I swear it."

Pidge nodded. "I believe you."

Pidge instructed Angela to make up a believable lie as to where she was and why she was staying there before taking Angela to her room.

"You can stay here," Pidge said, sweeping her arm into the messy room. The covers were kicked onto the floor and clothes were draped over the bedframe and chair.

"Where will you stay?" Angela asked, glancing around the room.

"Probably in Matt's room or something," Pidge shrugged and left Angela to her own devices.

Adding Angela to the mix didn't help their plans, but Pidge couldn't find anything wrong with it. As long as she stayed out of their business and kept her family and friend's suspicions at bay, everything would be fine. Pidge sent a quick message over her communicator informing everyone of their guest and wandered the house.

She found herself in the living room, which was transformed into their makeshift base of operations. One of Pidge's computers was wired into their TV screen so that everyone could see any outgoing communications or information without having to cram around the tiny laptop screen. Plates, cups, and food wrappers littered the coffee table and a blanket was thrown over the couch, most likely because Coran had spent night and day pouring over the castle plans on a laptop now closed on the corner table.

Pidge sighed. She missed the castle, with it's training deck and food goo and long halls. She missed the large spaced they used as a living room, decorated with things from the different planets they visited. It was all dust now, compressed into a tiny crystal.

Hunk typed away on the laptop, unaware of anything around him. Most of the team was there—only her parents were missing- lounged in various chairs, watching the information on the screen go by. Shiro slept in one chair, arm thrown over his eyes.

Pidge looked around and sighed. They were all exhausted, with dark circles and hollow cheeks. No one had slept well since Matt disappeared, Shiro least of all, and now, since the disappearance of the blue lion, everyone was working night and day. They needed rest.

Pidge opened her mouth to speak when Hunk gasped and shuffled back from the laptop. The TV screen blinked for a moment before Throk appeared, grinning. He stood in what looked like an empty room on a Galra cruiser, his backdrop windows looking out into empty space.

"Hello paladins! I believe I've reached you," Throk began, his grin menacing. "While I can't see you, I pray you're all gathered together for this."

He stepped away from the camera, revealing two sentries holding a slumped Matt in place. Pidge gasped, as did Lance.

"I believe I have something you want, and you have something I want. How wonderful that it all works out like that," Throk continued. "I'll make this quick: you give me your lions, and I give you back your friend. It's an easy choice, really." His smile grew. "Of course, you could always say no and attempt a rescue, but, well…"

Something charged up, and one of the sentries jabbed a rod into Matt's side. Electricity crackled through it and into him, and he screamed. A sound, something between a sob and a scream, forced its way out of Pidge's throat.

The electricity subsided, and Matt slumped over once more, shaggy hair sticking to his sweat-drenched face. Throk snapped something, and one of the sentires yanked his head up by his hair.

Matt was in bad shape. He was covered in cuts, mostly shallow, but one deep one that would probably scar ran from his temple to his cheek. One eye was black and swollen shut and his lip was split and bruised. His nose looked crooked, and dried blood crusted just under it. Despite his state, his mouth was set in a firm, determined line. He looked directly at the camera and every so slightly shook his head. The movement was barely perceptible, not even the sentries noticed, but the whole team saw and tensed.

"As you can see, he won't make it very long," Throk said gleefully. "So, I suggest you make your decision quickly, because I'm getting bored of the normal torture methods."

Something akin to fear flashed in Matt's eyes, but Pidge knew it wasn't fear for himself, but for the team. For their family. It was quickly covered by steely defiance.

The electric whirring began again, and Throk grinned. "I'll see you soon!"

The communication clicked off just as Matt began screaming.

Everyone was frozen. Time stood still as they all comprehended what they had just seen.

Pidge was the first to break. Her knees gave out and she braced herself on the couch, dry, heaving sobs wracking her body. Hunk scrambled to her and drew her to him in a warm hug.

She was aware of the others shuffling around, breaking out of their trance.

"Oh my God," Lance kept whispering. "Oh my God oh my God."

Pidge stood with Hunk until her sobs subsided. She pulled away, feeling hollow and sick.

She had no idea what to do. None of them did, and they all knew it. Without the lions and the castle, any attempt at a rescue was nearly impossible. On the off chance that the Garrison had developed tech good enough to invade a Galra ship—a chance so small that it was barley even a possibility—they'd still have to convince the Garrison to let them use it, a feat near impossible.

This was it. Matt was going to die, and there was nothing they could do.

And the look in his eyes, the acceptance. Matt knew he had reached his end, had accepted it.

That hurt Pidge so much more than him being afraid.

Over Hunk's shoulder, Pidge noticed someone peaking from around the corner of the hall. Angela.

She excused herself and approached the other girl. "Why are you in here?"

God, she sounded terrible. Her voice was raw and scratchy, and her throat burned with every word. Pidge knew she didn't look much better either.

Angela was wide-eyed. "I wanted to see where everyone was. I didn't… I wasn't…" Tears welled in her eyes, and Pidge was taken aback. Angela didn't cry. Angela didn't feel any normal emotions. Angela didn't care about anyone.

But there she was, holding back tears.

Pidge put a hand on her shoulder. It was all the reassurance she could muster.

"Katie, your brother. Oh Katie." She finally broke, sobbing into her hands.

Pidge squeezed her shoulder, not able to find the energy to whisper comforting words or hug her.

"I didn't know," Angela whispered after her crying subsided. "I didn't know. I didn't want this to happen. I didn't know."

Pidge swallowed. She knew Angela blamed herself, for bringing them to the park. For distracting Pidge and Matt. For being someone they had to protect rather than someone who could aid in a fight.

This felt so wrong. Angela was still her enemy, the source of so many bad memories. Pidge knew they could never be friends—not when Angela had still been making her feel miserable just last week, only changing when she found out Pidge's secret—but they had to set aside their differences. For now, at least, they could tolerate each other. Work together, even.

But they would never be friends.

* * *

Pidge stared at her bayard gripped in her hand. Her white armor stood out in the darkness of the makeshift hangar, a stark contrast to the bleakness she felt inside of her.

She hadn't slept at all, unable to think about anything else except Matt's bruised, bloody face. His screams still echoed in her ears.

They were hopeless, out of ideas. The team had nothing. No plan, no semblance of a rescue mission, had come up in their hours-long meeting after the message from Throk. Everything was too risky, too improbable, too dangerous. They all knew, without saying it, what was going to happen.

_You can't save everyone_.

Pidge's grip tightened on the bayard. The green tip glowed lightly.

"If you won't help me," Pidge whispered to the green lion, her voice edged with resentment, "then I'll do it myself."

The bayard crackled in her hand. The green lightning swirled around the top, took form, shaping into something entirely new.

A sword, it's sharp edges glowing green with electricity, rested in her hand. Her grip tightened on the hilt, and lightning arced out, turning the air hot with crackling energy.

Pidge was going to save Matt.

Or she was going to die trying.

She stepped out of the hangar into the cool night air and headed toward the park.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Another not so happy chapter for y'all (sorry guys).
> 
> I'm sorry that it's been a while. This chapter was meant to be finished earlier, as well as be longer, but we had a major family emergency. No details, but someone got very hurt and it was very scary (they're okay now, but everyone is still shaken up).
> 
> Thank you all for reading and putting up with my update schedule (or lack thereof).
> 
> Once again, please review! They're what keep me motivated to write.
> 
> P.S. Happy New Year!


	11. Hero

It was a clear night, Pidge observed distractedly. Not a cloud in the sky, just the stars and thin sliver of a moon shining over the empty park.

A breeze swept through the park, but she didn't feel it, thanks to her armor's heating system. What she did feel, however, was the light tap on her shoulder.

Pidge jumped and spun around, pointing her new bayard form at whoever snuck up behind her.

Angela's green eyes were wide and bright in the flickering electric light from Pidge's sword. Her hands shot up in surrender. "Woah, woah, hey, it's me."

Pidge grit her teeth and didn't lower the sword. "What are you doing here?"

Angela eyed the sword warily. "I couldn't sleep. I saw you leave."

Pidge's grip tightened. "So you thought to follow me?"

"I'm sorry," Angela took a step back. "I thought you were going to get hurt."

They faced each other in silence for a few moments before Pidge finally sighed and lowered the sword.

Of course Angela had followed her. Always nosing into her business and going to places she didn't belong. Why had Pidge ever said yes to her staying with them? She cursed her empathy for making her feel bad enough for the girl to let her stay. "Go back to the house, Angela."

The other girl shook her head, her loose red hair bouncing. "No, you're going to do something to get yourself hurt."

She wasn't too far from the truth, but Pidge wasn't going to admit that. She grit her teeth. "Fine, stay. Just don't get in my way."

Angela frowned and opened her mouth to say something, but at that moment a Pidge heard the unmistakable sound of a pod landing behind her. To confirm her suspicions, Angela's eyes went wide and she took a step back. Pidge whirled and came face to face with Throk, stepping out of the pod.

He stood alone, wearing his own armor and holding a long, hooked sword, almost like a scythe. A purple gem shone on the hilt, embedded in it. He grinned at her, his eyes dangerously bright. "I suspected you would be here, green paladin, but this other one? Not so much."

Pidge's bayard elongated in her hand, almost on its own. The new weight of it was different, but not uncomfortable. "She's not here to help me."

Throk's grin grew wider. "A spectator then?" He spun his sword. "A nosy one at that."

Pidge lifted her sword. "Can we just get to the part where we fight?"

Throk laughed and, without another word, launched himself at her. Pidge barely had enough time to jump out of the way as he charged past, his blade a hair's breadth from her face. Angela screamed and jumped behind a tree.

Pidge whirled and swung her sword in a wide arc. "Give me back my brother!"

Her sword clanged against his, and they began a sort of dance, their blades colliding but never touching the people holding them. Throk pressed forward, steadily backing Pidge closer to a tree. Before he could corner her, Pidge ducked under his sword arm and ran. Her bayard shifted back to its grappler form, and she spun and shot it at Throk. It wrapped around his leg and pulled him down.

She sent a shock through it, and he screamed, but it barely slowed him down. As soon as she shifted back to her sword, he jumped up and sprinted towards her.

Pidge barely had time to block his next blow, and the crash of metal on metal clanged through her bones. Throk didn't miss her hesitation and used his free fist to slam into her sword arm. Pidge stumbled, and he twisted her blade out of her hand and across the grass.

In a panic, Pidge scrambled for her discarded bayard, but Throk slashed at her side, at the point where the armor broke for fabric. Her under suit tore, and blood welled from the gash now on her side. She cried out and stumbled again. Vaguely, she was aware of Angela screaming her name from across the park, but she hardly took notice. All her focus rested on the bayard just a few feet away.

A kick from Throk to her back sent her crashing to the ground. Her side screamed in protest. She rolled over and tried to get up, but Throk put one foot on her chest. With one shove from his sword, her helmet was off and rolling across the grass to join her bayard.

Pidge saw stars before she felt the pain. It took her a few seconds to register that Throk had slammed his hilt into her head. Spots danced in her vision, and the world tilted under her. She reached towards the direction she hoped her bayard was in, but Throk stepped on her hand. She cried out as something crunched where the heel of his boot rested.

This was going wrong. So, so wrong. She needed to get to Matt, rescue Matt, but she couldn't organize her thoughts. Her vision swam. Throk's grin swayed back and forth, blinding white.

Angela. Where was Angela? Maybe she could call the team, they could come save her. But as Throk leveled his sword at her throat, the tip touching the perfect killing spot, she knew there'd be no time.

"A fitting death, don't you think?" Throk teased. "On your back while your little fan watches."

With all the strength she could gather, Pidge spat up at him. It was half blood.

Throk grimaced and dug his heel into her broken hand. Against her will, she gasped in pain. "I wanted you all dead at once, but I guess picking you off one by one works just as well."

He raised his sword, and Pidge braced herself. Time stretched out before her. She saw Matt, spinning her around on her clumsy four-year-old legs in their living room as children. She saw Angela and Chris and the rest, shoving her off the playground so hard her wrist broke when she landed. She saw Matt getting accepted into the Garrison, leaving for Kerberos, and disappearing. She saw her tears, her mom's tears, her infiltration attempts. She saw the paladins meeting for the first time, finding the lions, and saving the universe.

She saw her life, too short and too tragic, but wonderful.

She was Katie Holt, a sister, daughter, and friend.

She was Pidge Gunderson, Paladin of the Green Lion, and a hero.

She met Throk's gaze.

She would not die with her eyes closed.

He raised the sword higher.

An ear-splitting roar broke through the night.

Something in Pidge's mind flicked on then. Something powerful and ancient.

_Green._

Throk's sword dropped an inch. "What-"

The ground shuddered so hard that he fell, and there was Green, massive and wonderful and  _angry_. Pidge felt it in her soul, the anger twining with her own emotions. The green lion was furious, angrier than Pidge had ever felt before. It flooded Pidge's broken body with strength she didn't know she had.

She pushed herself up, the anger from Green covering up the pain. She retrieved her helmet and bayard. With her good hand, she aimed the grappler at Throk, now a small distance away. "Give me my brother." The words tasted like blood.

"He's not here," Throk said.

Pidge's grip tightened on the bayard. "Then I'll find him after I kill you."

But before she could fire, Throk pressed something on his wrist, and a robot whizzed out of the trees. He grabbed on and they took off. Pidge fired at them, but it fell short, and she watched as Throk sped off into the night.

A wave of pain washed over Pidge then, enough to make her double over in pain and vomit up what little food she had in her stomach. And then again.

When she'd finally emptied everything in her stomach and then some, she looked at Angela, now staring up at the massive lion. "Come on, let's-,"

The words died in her throat. The world swayed and tilted. Angela became a blur of red hair and pale skin. Pidge took a step towards her, reaching out, but her knees gave out. Everything went black.

* * *

 

When Pidge woke, it took a few moments for her eyes to adjust. She was in a dark room. It looked like her own, but she couldn't quite tell past the throbbing pain in her head. Someone dozed in a chair next to her. Keith.

"Keith," she said. The word was a rasp. Her mouth felt like it was filled with cotton.

He heard it, though, and jumped awake. "What? What is it? Are you okay?"

"Water," Pidge rasped.

Keith grabbed a glass on the bedside table and shoved it into her hands. Pidge gulped down the water greedily, not bothering to take small sips like she should. When she drank her fill, she looked up at Keith, who watched her worriedly. "What happened."

"We don't really know. One minute Green was flying away, and next she was returning with you passed out inside and Angela screaming about Throk." He laced his hands together in his lap. "You've been out for a while, almost nine hours I think." He nodded towards her hand, braced in a hard cast. "Coran did what he could without the castle."

Pidge stared at the cast, ashy black against her white and blue striped sheets. She swallowed against the memory of the blinding pain as Throk crushed the bones beneath his heel. Her dominant hand, out of commission.

"It's shattered," Keith explained. "You have a pretty nasty concussion too, but Coran can treat that better than the hand. Your side isn't in great shape either, but much better than when you got here. You lost a lot of blood."

Pidge noticed the bandages then, wrapped around her abdomen. The memory of Throk's sword tearing through her under suit and skin like it was paper made her shudder.

"What were you thinking Pidge?" Keith asked, concern bleeding into his voice. "You could've died. You almost did."

Pidge shook her head. "I don't know." She stared at the cast. "I just wanted Matt back."

"God, Pidge," Keith said, and pulled her into a gentle hug, careful not to touch any of her injuries. He stroked her hair. "You didn't need to do that. You didn't need to go alone."

Pidge didn't know what to say, so she just nodded.

They stayed like that for a while before Keith pulled away. "Come on, the others want to talk to you."

Gently, he helped her stand. She had to put most of her weight on him just to walk, but they made it to the living room without her collapsing. The others waited there, tense and quiet as they watched her limp to the couch and sit.

Not a second after she sat, the room erupted in panicked questions. Some were demanding to know why she did it, others asking if she was okay, but Pidge could hardly make out anything coherent. Her head pounded, and she squeezed her hands over her ears to block out the sound. Would they just  _be quiet?_

"Be quiet."

It was her dad, his authoritative voice silencing the room without protest. "Katie, are you alright?"

Pidge shook her head. Her head hurt so damn  _bad_.

Someone placed a hand on her shoulder. Keith, probably, doing what he could to comfort her. She swallowed past the pain in her head and looked up. "I wanted Matt back. I knew Throk would come if I was alone." She met each of their eyes. "I couldn't let him die."

Lance nodded. "I understand. If it were my siblings…" he shook his head. "I don't know what I'd do to get them back."

Pidge gave him a weak smile.  _Thanks for understanding_ , she wanted to say, but every word felt exhausting, and she couldn't break herself to speak.

"Pidge, we understand," Allura began, "but you can't risk your life like that. Without the castle's healing system, it's a big risk."

"I know," Pidge said. "But we can go after him now. We can get Matt. Green is awake."

The other paladins shared a look, and a bolt of anxiety shocked through Pidge. What was it? Did Green power back down? Was her only chance of saving Matt gone again?

"It's not just Green," Coran said. "It's all of them. They all woke up."

Pidge's anxiety evaporated. "Wait… you mean…"

Coran nodded. "When you woke the green lion, she sparked them all back to life. The full power of Voltron is back with us."

Pidge couldn't speak. She didn't know what to say. In all her wildest dreams, she'd never imagined that all of Voltron would wake back up in time. They didn't just have the force of the green lion now, they had them  _all._

"We can attack Throk," Shiro spoke up. "The lions can pick up his ship on their scanners easily, and from there we can rescue Matt." Shiro gave her a look. "We just need someone to get inside the cruiser without being spotted."

"That's me, then," Pidge said.

Allura shook her head. "You won't be healed enough. You have to stay in the green lion."

Pidge wanted to argue, but she knew it was no use. With how she felt now, she knew to send her in after Matt would be a death sentence.

"I'll get him," Shiro said. "You're going to drop me off, and then I'll take it from there."

Pidge nodded. It was a solid plan really. If Throk had a full fleet, they'd know it already, that much they'd agreed on when he first showed up. Really, they only had to face three or four ships max, and Voltron could easily take down that many. The riskiest part was getting Matt out.

They talked for a bit longer, working out the details, and soon they had a full plan. The best plan they'd had since Matt went missing.

By the time they finished, Pidge was exhausted. Her whole body ached, and every movement felt like she was being torn apart by tiny glass shards. When the meeting dismissed, she gratefully limped back to her dark room.

Except, it wasn't empty. Angela sat in the chair beside her bed, tapping her leg anxiously. When Pidge entered, the other girl shot up. "Hey."

Pidge just looked at her, too tired to say anything. She closed the distance between them and collapsed onto her bed.

"Are you okay? I was really scared after what happened in the park. I thought…" Angela swallowed. "I'm glad your… ship… came."

"Green," Pidge said.

"What?"

"Her name is Green. She's a lion."

Angela nodded slowly. "Okay. Well, are you okay?"

Pidge looked at her. "Do I look okay?"

"…No."

Pidge sighed. Maybe she was being too hard on the other girl, but she couldn't help but be annoyed by her presence. All she wanted was to be  _alone._  "Angela, why do you care about me all of the sudden?"

Angela looked taken aback. "I- what?"

Pidge forced herself into a sitting position. "Why do you care about me? You've hated me for years."

Angela opened and closed her mouth a few times. "Well… you're a hero. You save the universe."

Pidge sighed and scrubbed her face. "We aren't friends, Angela. You've treated me like shit since I was seven. I can't forget that, and I'm not exactly sorry for it." She turned to the other girl. "We can be acquaintances, we can be on good terms, but the only way we could've become friends is if you had come to like me as Katie, not as a paladin of Voltron."

To her credit, Angela didn't look shocked. "No, no, I get it." She chuckled. "I guess… for so long I hated you, and then karma came around. Look at you." She swept her hand at Pidge. "Saving the universe while I sit in high school. It's made me realize that I was a bitch."

Pidge had to laugh. "Yeah, you were."

Angela laughed too. It was weird, to laugh with someone she'd hated for so long. She still didn't like Angela, and she could never forgive her, but Pidge couldn't bring herself to hate the other girl. She was a kid, and kids do stupid things. Pidge had done plenty of stupid things, until being a paladin forced her to grow up. And, if she was being completely honest, she still had a lot of growing up to do.

Angela's laughter faded. "When all this is done… the world is going to know, yeah? About you guys."

Pidge nodded. They'd discussed this in their meeting. There was no way to hide Voltron from the Garrison if they were going to attack Throk outright. It was time to face the world.

"I'll support you. I'll explain what you do to the others too. Chris, Grant, and Layla," Angela promised.

Grant and Layla.  _That's_  what their names were. "That's nice of you," Pidge said.

Angela nodded and stood. "I'll let you rest now. You need it."

Pidge nodded and laid back down, sleep already pulling at her body.

Angela paused at her door and turned around. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry."

"Thank you," Pidge said.

Angela nodded once and left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, it's been a few months. I'm sorry for the super delayed update, but I have valid reasons.
> 
> I had auditions! I made the all-state band for the third year in a row, and I tried out for four different music schools. So excited to say that I was accepted into all four, and now I just have to choose the one I'm going to go to next year.
> 
> Applying for college is hard.
> 
> This chapter was hard to write for a lot of reasons. I didn't know how I wanted the fight to go, and Pidge's near-death experience wasn't easy to get onto paper. It genuinely made me sad when I wrote it, and I revised the wording a bunch to get it just right. That, and Angela and Pidge's talk wasn't easy either. I've forgiven my old middle school tormentors, but I can't be friends with any of them, so conveying those feelings just right was important to me. Pidge and Angela were never meant to be friends at the end of the story, and it is staying that way.
> 
> As always, please leave a review. They're great to see.


	12. Two for One

Pidge stared up at the Green Lion.

The lions sat in their standard semicircle now, still and waiting. The paladins stood in front of them, exchanging see-you-soons and good-lucks with the people staying on the ground.

A tap on her shoulder had her facing her mother, arms open. Pidge wrapped her arms around her mom and held tight. Her dad enveloped them both in a hug and they stood there for a while, taking comfort in each other and imagining that their missing member was safe with them.

"You be safe, Katie," her dad said.

Pidge nodded.

They broke apart, and her mom put a hand on her shoulder. "Fly steady, and be brave."

Pidge swallowed, not able to speak.

Her dad put a hand on her other shoulder. "And bring Matt home."

* * *

Pidge's hands were steady on the handles. Tense, but steady. She barely registered the ache in her casted hand, still broken from her fight with Throk only days before, or the tightness in her torn side. Everything was drowned out by the mission at hand: release Blue, get Matt and get home.

It hopefully wouldn't be too hard. Blue registered on their scanners at the back of Throk's ship in the hangar, and Shiro was confident that he could get her out. After that, he just had to find Matt.

Shiro was a constant steady presence behind her, eyes glued to Green's front window as they approached the lone Galra cruiser.

"It can't be just one," Shiro mumbled, more to himself than to Pidge.

Pidge activated her wide scanner and swept the whole solar system. The only thing that registered was the single ship.

"I think it is," Pidge replied, gesturing to the scanner. "Look."

Shiro's lip quirked up. "Our lucky day, then."

"Don't say that yet," Pidge said. "We still have to get Matt."

They crawled closer to the ship, careful to move as slow as possible so they didn't show up as anything hostile on Throk's scanners.

Space seemed eerily dark today. Usually it felt brighter, with distant stars to light their way, but right now it just felt empty and quiet, like the whole universe held its breath as it watched the precarious rescue mission. Pidge's grip tightened on the handles.

After what felt like ages, they reached the cruiser. Pidge gently landed Green on the exterior, careful not to make too loud of a  _thunk_  against the metal.

Her heart pounded as Shiro made his way to Green's exit hatch. "Shiro…"

He met her gaze.

She swallowed. "Bring him back safe."

Shiro nodded, and he fell through the hatch.

Pidge made sure he entered the cruiser safely before flying away to regroup with the others and wait for Shiro's signal.

"In safely?"Keith's voice crackled through her helmet.

"Yeah," Pidge replied. "I hope we weren't spotted."

"Nothing's happened yet,"Allura reassured. "I don't see any reason why you should be worried."

"Everyone's out to jinx us today," Pidge muttered.

"What was that?" Lance asked.

"Nothing."

Lance laughed, but didn't say anything else.

It wasn't long before the cruiser's hangar opened and Blue shot out, speeding towards their small group like the world depended on it. Allura shouted in relief and excitement, and Pidge saw her exit Keith's lion and jetpack towards Blue, who scooped her up quickly.

Pidge didn't want to think about that was too easy.

No, it was only easy because Shiro was clever and could do the mission quickly. The other paladins' celebrations at Blue's return slowly died out.

They waited, watching the cruiser anxiously.

And they waited.

And waited.

"Something's wrong,"Hunk said, speaking for the first time. He sounded tense.

"Just give them a bit more time," Allura reassured. Pidge could hear the anxiety in her voice, no matter how hard she tried to hide it.

Pidge wasn't faring well. Her heart pounded so hard she thought it would burst from her chest. Horrible thoughts of Shiro getting captured, or Shiro finding Matt dead, or both of them being dead, flashed through her head. She couldn't stop them. The thoughts raged, only getting worse as the seconds ticked by.

"We're going in," Keith said.

Pidge grabbed the handles without hesitation, but Allura's alarmed voice stopped her from moving.

"Wait!"

"What?" Pidge asked, anxious to get a move on.

But Allura didn't have to explain. They all saw.

Throk's ship was moving. Moving  _away._  Moving away with Shiro and Matt still inside.

And it moved  _fast._

_"Go!"_  Keith shouted.

Pidge didn't need an order. She was already moving, gunning Green towards the quickly retreating ship. The others followed, Lance passing her with ease as he pushed Red full-throttle to the cruiser.

A soft whine sounded, and Pidge looked around for the source before realizing it came from her. It was a noise of desperation, begging Green to move faster without words because they wouldn't come. Sweat dripped down her forehead as she pushed the handles farther than she ever thought they could go. Green's constant presence in her head became strained, as if she grew tired.

Pidge almost let up on the handles when the presence shuddered in her mind, and Green picked up speed, the handles no longer fighting her. Pidge knew her lion couldn't keep this up for long, but she sent a silent thanks to the ship as they gained on Throk's cruiser.

Pidge gunned Green towards the side of the ship, growing ever closer now. Closer and closer they moved, until the massive ship was all she could see.

With a cry, Pidge shifted the handles and fired full-blast at the particle barrier, Lance joining her. The shield crackled into view for a few moments, just long enough for Pidge to see it wasn't at full power.

"The shield!" Pidge cried, voice full of wild desperation. "It's weak!"

"We'll take it out then," Keith shouted. "Form Voltron!"

The transformation lasted mere seconds before the full might of Voltron slammed into the cruiser, causing the particle barrier to shudder. They attacked it again and again, and with each blow the shield weakened. Finally, it went down and they moved in.

The next few minutes were a blur of blasts and dodges, aiming all attacks at the ion cannon firing at them.

"Shoulder cannon!" Keith commanded.

Pidge felt Voltron's weight shift in her mind, just like it always did when they formed a new weapon – a barely imperceptible change that allowed the whole team to readjust in the blink of an eye. It prevented them from getting knocked off balance every time their weight changed, and not for the first time Pidge was grateful for their telepathic connection to Voltron.

With one massive blast from the cannon, the cruiser's ion cannon shattered into a million pieces. Pidge whooped triumphantly, as did the others, before they turned their attention to the front of the ship.

But, before they could attack, a communication blinked on their screens. They stopped short. Pidge's eyebrows drew together as she stared at it.

"Uh," Lance said. "Should we answer it?"

No one had to answer. The message transferred to each paladin's main screen, no doubt because Keith answered.

The sight they were greeted with was not a pleasant one.

Throk stood on his main deck, grinning and holding a blaster to an unconscious Matt's head. Behind him, multiple massive Galra sentries held onto Shiro, who seemed to still be awake but just barely. His eyes stared at Throk, but they were unfocused and cloudy. Blood trailed down from his temple

They'd caught him.

All hope in Pidge's heart disappeared.

"Hello, Voltron." Throk greeted with his ever-present smile. He seemed fine after their recent battle in the park, unlike Pidge's still healing wounds. "You're looking for them, yes?"

"Yes," Keith answered, voice steady in Pidge's helmet. She couldn't see him, but she could imagine that he looked composed, despite his probable fear. Shiro was to Keith as Matt was to her.

"I have a proposition, then," Throk said. "Their lives for your little green paladin's. Two for the price of one!"

"No!" It was Lance, voice firm. "Never."

Throk didn't waver, but he quirked an eyebrow in amusement. No doubt he could see all of their faces right now.

_My life for theirs,_  Pidge thought.  _One life for two._

"Are you sure?" Throk asked, grin not wavering.

_If I go, they'll be safe._

"Of course we're sure," Hunk said, but he didn't sound as confident as Lance.

_Mom and dad will get Matt back, and they'll be able to mourn together._

"We do not trade lives for others," Allura said.

_They can find another Green Paladin. Maybe even Matt could take over._

"I'll go."

Silence, and then shouts rang through her helmet. She couldn't make out everything they said, just snippets of protests.

Pidge closed her eyes, trying not to listen to them. "This is my decision to make, and I have made it."

"Pidge, you can't!" Lance begged.

Pidge clenched her fists. "Yes, I can."

When Pidge opened her eyes again, ignoring the protests of the others, Throk grinned at her. "So, you accept, Green Paladin?"

"On one condition," Pidge said. "Matt and Shiro be returned  _alive and safe_  at the same time. No tricks, no games."

Throk seemed to consider for a second before nodding. "Yes, a reasonable request. But only if you come unarmed."

Pidge knew that one was coming. With a sigh, she nodded. "I agree."

The other paladin's shouts grew louder, but she ignored them. Gritting her teeth, she broke her connection with Voltron and slowly piloted Green towards the cruiser. Lance caught up to her and tried to block her, but she maneuvered out of the way. "Lance, let me do this. Let me save them."

"Please," Lanced begged, voice cracking. "There's got to be another way."

Pidge saw Throk's finger squeeze on the blaster's trigger on her screen, and knew the rest saw the same based on the collective intake of breath she heard. "No, Lance. There's not."

When she approached the cruiser, the screen shut off.

It was time.

Pidge patted Green's console. Her presence had grown distressed over these past few minutes, but now it was panicked. Pidge switched off her helmet's communicator, leaving her in silence.

"Hey girl," Pidge said with a sad smile. "You know I have to do this, right?"

Green protested, but it was half-hearted. They all knew.

"You were amazing back there. Really. You've always been amazing," Pidge continued, ignoring the aching in her heart. "I'll miss you so much. Make sure the next green paladin is worthy of you."

Green's presence grew mournful, and Pidge couldn't stop the tears from falling.

"Goodbye, Green."

Pidge set her bayard on the console. Her helmet sealed, and she flew out of Green into the open space before her. The cruiser's hatch opened, and she saw a sentry release Shiro and Matt in a pod. Green flew to them and took them in. Pidge sent one last thank you to her.

It wasn't long before the yellow light of the ship enveloped her and she was grabbed roughly by the arms. Someone pressed a gun to the back of her neck, but she didn't falter. She only held her back straight and her head high as the robotic sentries marched her to the main deck.

Throk waited for her there, grinning that same eerie grin that was really starting to get on her nerves. She grit her teeth as she faced him.

"Take it off," he said to a sentry.

Someone removed her helmet none-too-gently and tossed it to the side like it was nothing more than a piece of trash. The gun didn't move from her neck.

"So, Green Paladin. After all that show, you stand defeated," Throk sneered.

Pidge didn't give him the satisfaction of a reply.

"The Green Paladin, reduced to this!" Throk continued, trying to get a reaction out of her.

Pidge pushed her shoulders back. "Why trade me?"

"Hm? Oh." Throk said. "Simple. I use you to get in the good graces of Sendak again, and then he disposes of you how he sees fit."

Ah. "So I'm not going to die here."

Throk shrugged. "Not yet, at least."

The gun pressed into her neck harder, and Pidge didn't feel so sure of his answer. She didn't let that show.

"So you're submitting yourself to Sendak," Pidge continued. "You really want to serve someone else?"

That got a reaction from him. His smile faltered, and something shifted in his gaze. "I wish to be un-banished from my home and have my good name restored."

Pidge opened her mouth to say something else, but a snap from Throk had the gun pressed harder into her neck. "That's enough from you."

Pidge didn't reply.

Throk waved at one of his crew members, a wiry Galra man with small furry ears, and he steered the ship away from the rest of the paladins and towards the edge of the solar system, no doubt towards Pidge's doom. She watched the lions grow smaller as they moved away. Tears pricked at the back of her eyes, but she didn't let them fall.

Throk turned away from her and ordered his crew around, preparing them for their meeting with Sendak. Pidge scanned the room, taking it all in out of habit. There was no escape now, but that didn't stop her from committing the room to memory.

Rows of panels spanned the room, manned by living and robotic crew members alike. Most of the panels were damaged from the fight with Voltron, some currently undergoing repairs. A massive screen made up the front wind shield, much like the castle.

_The castle,_  Pidge realized with a pang. The castle she would never see again. She hoped for the others sakes that it was completed fast. They needed to get back to saving the universe.

Pidge swallowed against the lump in her throat. She would not cry.

She would not cry.

She would not cry.

Something materialized in her hand.

The weight was as familiar as it always had been, but she still didn't believe it.

Her bayard.

It was impossible. She'd left it sitting on her console. It was impossible for it to travel that far. Completely impossible. She glanced down, and had to suppress a yelp.

It wasn't solid. Well, it felt solid, but it didn't look it. The bayard shimmered in her hand, half-in half-out of existence. It looked like a hologram almost, but it was very real.

She couldn't fight her way out of here, so why was it here? Transferring it here probably took all of Green's energy. She must have a plan.

No, no. Green didn't make the plans. Green helped her execute them, but she always left the planning to Pidge. Even now, their dynamic was the same.

It was more comforting than Pidge thought it would be.

Pidge thought back to everything that had happened since they'd returned to Earth. She thought about goofing off with the others, and about late night cuddle sessions. She thought about standing up to Angela and fighting alongside Matt. She thought of every good memory ever shared with the others.

If bayards reacted to emotions, then she would give hers a hell of a lot to react to.

The bayard's weight changed. It didn't feel like the sword, though, nor did it feel like her normal weapon of choice. No, something felt different.

A quick glance told her why.

In her hand was a shimmering bow, the bowstring made of a thin line of green energy.

Pidge was careful not to react. Instead, she scanned the room again, looking for anything she could use to her advantage.

There. The main panel, still open and sparking from the battle. One good hit, and the whole ship would go up in flames. How she knew that, she didn't know, but the image of crackling green electricity traveling down through the panel and into every wire of the ship was very real in her mind.

Green.

Pidge closed her eyes and smiled. She wouldn't see the others again, but she also wouldn't be handed over to their enemies. If she was going down, she was taking Throk with her.

Pidge grabbed the bow with both hands, her hands in position like she'd always known how to shoot. A crackling green arrow, more solid and real than the rest of the bayard, appeared in her fingers. She knocked it and raised the bow, aiming. No one paid her any attention.

_Hey Green_ , she thought, praying that the lion heard her.  _Tell the others what I did._

She let the arrow fly.

It found its mark just as Pidge's helmet sealed.

Someone shouted, but it was too late. The arrow dissolved into pure electricity, crackling through the main panel and into the ship.

The last thing Pidge saw before she closed her eyes was Throk lunging towards the panel.

And the world turned to fire.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that was sad.
> 
> But don't be discouraged. There's still a chapter or two to this fic, and I don't plan on it ending in a tragedy. You'll just have to keep reading to see :)
> 
> As always, you readers are amazing, and I love to see your reviews. I hope you all still enjoy reading this as much as I enjoy writing this! If you liked this chapter, please drop a review.
> 
> P.S. I picked a college!! T-Minus 39 days to graduation.


	13. A New Era

Darkness.

Inky, thick darkness, flickering with flashes of white-hot fire. It swirled around and around, surrounding her, wrapping around her. Comforting. The fire didn't touch her, only the darkness. She was so tired.

_Hey hey, stay with us, okay?_

She didn't want to leave. The darkness was so comforting.

She faded out.

* * *

_Here, give me that. If only we had better equipment. Come on, stay with us._

She struggled out of the darkness to hear the voice that talked to her, but it sounded so far away. So out of reach. It'd be impossible to find it again.

* * *

The fire touched her wrist but she couldn't cry out. Her mouth felt filled with cotton, her head weighed down by lead.

It burned. It burned and she couldn't stop it.

She let herself drift away.

* * *

_You think she'll be okay?_

_Okay is subjective, my boy. But she will heal._

Who spoke? Who was talking? She struggled to grab hold of a voice. She tried to speak, but she couldn't hear if she said something. She struggled to move.

_Wait, hold on, c'mon stay with us. Allura! Allura she's moving!_

She tried to move again, but all the energy had left her body.

She fell back into the darkness.

* * *

Pidge opened her eyes.

For a second, she thought she was still in the darkness. But this darkness was too thin to be the inky, all-consuming darkness from before. She could breathe now. She tried to move her arms but felt nothing. Her whole body felt weak and exhausted. After a few moments of struggling to sit up, she gave up and relaxed back into the bed.

_The bed._

Everything rushed back to her in an instant. Throk, the deal, the bow.

The explosion.

She should be dead. She had accepted the fact that she would die. So why was she here? Whose bed was this? Why was she alive but totally numb?

She scanned the room again, her eyes finally adjusted to the darkness. It wasn't a bedroom, that much she was sure of. It looked more like a makeshift hospital than anything. One glance at her left arm told her why she felt numb. An IV, no doubt supplying pain medication, ran into a vein in her arm.

She couldn't see much of her arm from the angle she was at, but it didn't look good. Long, red burn scars spiraled from her shoulder down her arm, no doubt past where she could see. Looked like her paladin armor, impressive as it was, couldn't protect her body entirely from an explosion.

She didn't want to see what the rest of her looked like.

Pidge groaned and looked back up at the ceiling, trying to ignore the burn scars.

Someone gasped, and suddenly Hunk was at her bedside. Where he came from, she had no idea.

"Pidge, Pidge, hey, you're awake," Hunk said. He sounded frantic. "Are you feeling okay?"

Was she feeling okay? She really couldn't tell. She tried to shrug, but it turned into more of a shaking motion than anything. "I'm-" she coughed. Wow, her throat was really dry. "I'm fine."

"Here." Hunk pressed a glass of something to her lips. "Drink this."

She drank a few tiny sips before her head fell back against the pillow again. It tasted sweet and was thicker than water, but she didn't have the energy to ask what it was.

This was all too familiar. Just a few days ago she'd been in this same position with Keith, drinking water after nearly dying in her fight with Throk. Well, she thought it was a few days ago. Everything, including her sense of time, felt muddled.

"How long since…" she trailed off, not wanting to voice what happened.

"A week," Hunk said. He had his hands clasped together. They didn't look relaxed. "You've been out for a week."

A week.

What the hell happened?

"I think… Green sensed it before it happened," Hunk continued, noting Pidge's alarm. "She took off towards Throk's ship just before it… y'know… and then we all went after her. She dove right into the explosion and when she came back out, she had you."

Green had saved her, then. She almost laughed. Green, pulling through at the very end. Pidge made a note to thank her later.

"Can I turn on a light?" Hunk asked.

Pidge nodded. Hunk switched on a nearby lamp and soft yellow light flooded the room. It calmed nerves she didn't realize she had.

Hunk sucked in a breath.

Pidge looked at him. "What?"

"Here, let me…" he trailed off and put one hand behind her back to support her. Slowly, he sat her up. "Your face is completely unharmed. I think your helmet did its job. But, well…"

Pidge didn't have to wait for him to finish.

Most of her right side was covered in horrific burns. They twisted all up her leg and side, tracing down her arm to her-

To her  _hand_.

Pidge took a deep breath an let it out slowly.

"Coran couldn't save it. I'm sorry."

In place of her right hand was a makeshift amalgamation of wires and metal. It looked sort of like Shiro's arm if all the casing was stripped off it.

"He's working on making a better one, but that's all he could do for now," Hunk continued, growing more jittery by the second. His words sped up, stumbling over each other in his haste to reassure her. "He did everything he could, but-"

"Hunk," Pidge cut him off. "It's okay."

Hunk visibly relaxed. "It is?"

Pidge nodded, still staring at the robotic appendage. "It is."

"Good," Hunk said. "Because everyone else is waiting to talk to you now."

Pidge lowered her hand. "Then let's get started."

* * *

One hour and one very tearful reunion later, Pidge snuggled back into the covers of her makeshift hospital bed. The team and her parents had left a bit ago, leaving her alone with Matt.

Matt looked better than her, but he didn't come out unscathed. He had a nasty black eye, a broken arm, and shackle scars around his wrists and ankles. He'd promised to tell her everything that had happened on Throk's ship once she healed, but right now she needed low stress.

They sat in silence for a moment before Matt placed his hand on Pidge's. That's all it took for the tears to fall again.

"You know you don't have to be self-sacrificing all the time, right?" Matt said with a watery laugh.

"But that's my job," Pidge said, also laughing.

Matt's laughter trailed off. "I… I'm serious though. I never wanted you to die for me."

Pidge didn't have a reply.

Matt looked away. His eyes grew unfocused. "I'm having a hard time sorting my thoughts." He shook his head. "So much happened. I don't really know what to say."

Pidge took his hand and squeezed it. "Then you don't have to say anything. Just stay here."

Matt smiled softly and nodded.

They fell asleep not long after.

* * *

The next day, Coran forced her to go through countless tests and checkups. He checked everything from reflexes, to vision, to how fast she responded to his bad jokes.

She was pretty sure the last one was just to lighten the mood, but she appreciated it anyways.

"And there's no pain from that?" He pointed to her new hand, which she flexed.

She thought of the fire in the darkness, scorching her wrist. The only thing she felt when she was out. That pain was gone now, replaced by the familiar feeling of a working hand. She smiled and shook her head. "Everything feels normal."

"Well, there's a bright side to all this," Coran said. "You don't have to wait for your shattered hand to heal."

Pidge snorted. He was right. Instead of a broken hand, she had a brand new one.

"When we get things sorted with the Garrison, I'll have the tools to craft you a better hand," Coran said with a smile.

Pidge smiled back at him. "I'm excited to see what you come up with."

Coran nodded and went back to typing away on his computer.

* * *

Long after Coran left, a knock sounded at the door.

"Come in!"

The door opened slowly, and Angela stepped into the room, looking completely lost. Pidge jumped in surprise. "Angela?"

The others had told her she'd gone home not long after they returned from their mission. With Pidge out of commission, she'd felt out of place. The negotiations with the Garrison, which also started not long after they returned, also made her uncomfortable.

"I asked them to call me when you woke up." Angela shuffled her feet. "I was worried."

Pidge sighed and gestured to the empty chair next to her bed. "Sit."

Angela complied and fidgeted awkwardly, looking everywhere except at Pidge's new hand.

"I told the others about you," she began. "Grant wants your autograph."

Pidge let out a bark of laughter. Angela's head whipped around to her and Pidge slapped a hand over her mouth. "Sorry, sorry, it's just…" Pidge laughed again. "Yeah, tell him I'll get it to him."

Angela smiled and pulled out her phone to text Grant. They fell into a comfortable silence.

"So, you're going to be okay?" Angela asked after she finished typing.

Pidge nodded and held up her hand. "The burns will heal, and Coran is working on a better hand."

"It's kind of cool," Angela said, leaning closer to look at it.

"Here." Pidge held out her hand to the other girl. "You can touch it."

Angela stared at it for a bit before she gingerly touched the metal. Her eyes widened in wonder. "It's sort of… Star Wars-y."

Pidge laughed. "I never took you for a Star Wars fan."

Angela shrugged. "We all have our secrets. You're a kick ass, universe saving warrior, and I like Star Wars."

Pidge laughed. Angela laughed too.

It looked like her burns weren't the only thing beginning the healing process.

* * *

"Then it's settled. Voltron and the Galaxy Garrison will work together to defend our planet from danger."

Cheers erupted around the room. People shook hands and embraced. At the front of the room, Shiro beamed.

It'd been almost two weeks since Pidge awoke, and now the team sat in the Garrison board meeting room, surrounded by countless Garrison commanders and authorities. After days of meetings and discussions, they'd finally settled on an agreement of trust and mutual respect.

It helped that Voltron had the Garrison's three favorite explorers on their side.

One of said explorers—Pidge's dad—sat at the front of the table next to commander Iverson, beaming. He held her mom's hand in his own. Behind them, Matt stood, talking to Shiro with a huge grin on his face.

Pidge sat next to Keith, who watched Lance laugh and joke with some of his old Garrison classmates. Pidge grinned and nudged him. "When all this settles down, you really should talk to him."

Keith turned red. "Be quiet."

Pidge laughed.

It was the start of a new era. Earth would be defended from any future invasion, and Voltron would have all the Garrison's resources and personnel on their side. Already, Coran was typing away on his computer, no doubt making plans for the new castle and, she hoped, for her new hand.

She'd had a few requests for him.

She was pretty sure that her request for "lasers of death" would not happen, though. A girl could dream.

Surveying the room, Pidge couldn't help but feel a swell of pride. Never in her wildest dreams did she think this would be the outcome of all their universe-saving adventures, but now it seemed everything was falling into place.

If the Galra empire ever came for Earth, they'd have a hell of a surprise waiting for them.

* * *

Pidge flexed her hand, turning it over and around, observing every angle she could see.

It was more impressive than she ever imagined. It was the same silver metal as Shiro's arm, but delicate lines of green decorated the outside instead of Shiro's black. It was a sleek design, with very little distracting embellishments, just how she'd wanted it.

The hacking ability Coran had programmed into the hand wasn't a bad touch, either.

"What do you think?" Coran asked.

Pidge beamed. "I love it!" She threw her arms around Coran, who laughed in surprise and hugged her back. "Thank you."

"Always glad to help, number five."

* * *

Pidge tapped her foot anxiously as she waited in the diner.

The same waitress from before—Susan—brought her coffee. When Pidge pointed on the menu with her robotic hand, the waitress just raised an eyebrow, shrugged, and wrote down her order. Now that the general public knew of Voltron, Pidge didn't need to be so secretive.

She spotted Angela's red hair just before she stepped through the glass door. Pidge waved her over, and the four teens joined Pidge in the booth.

Grant, to Pidge's ultimate satisfaction, looked completely starstruck as he sat down at the table. He kept ogling her hand, and when she said hello to him, he stammered out a reply and turned bright red.

_Awesome._

Pidge slid Grant a little note with her autograph. He looked like he was about to faint. She had to suppress a laugh.

"So," Pidge began. "Why'd you want to meet here?"

Angela nudged Grant, who swallowed. "I wanted to apologize."

"Me too," Layla said.

Pidge nodded. This much she expected. "Thank you."

"What we did… it wasn't right," Layla continued. "I'm sorry that it took us finding out you were a paladin of Voltron to treat you right."

"Thank you," Pidge said again. Hopefully, now, they'd be better to others in the future.

"And I wanted to tell you that Angela and I are going to apply to join the Garrison," Grant said.

Pidge's eyes widened and she beamed. That was an unexpected but pleasant surprise. As bad as Angela and Grant had been to her, they'd changed for the better in the past few weeks. In fact, Angela's whole group had. It was good to know that the Garrison would have more recruits eager to join their efforts to defend the world.

Pidge stuck out her right hand. Grant hesitated for just a moment before taking it with a firm grip. She shook his hand, and then Angela's, who took her hand without hesitation. Pidge grinned. "Welcome aboard."

* * *

"Congratulations, new recruits; you are officially cadets of the Galaxy Garrison."

Cheers erupted in the hall. Pidge grinned from her seat at the front, behind Iverson at his podium. She sat with her team, each wearing their official, colored Garrison uniforms. The Garrison didn't normally hold such a grand ceremony for inducting recruits, but since this was the first class in the new agreement, they'd deemed it a special occasion.

Pidge could pick out Angela and Grant in the crowd. She didn't think Angela's dad was here, considering how much he had protested her joining the Garrison, but she could see her mom in the audience, her hair the same fiery red as Angela's. She looked like a kind woman. Chris and Layla were there too, supporting their friends from the audience.

Pidge glanced at her team. Keith and Lance sat next to each other. Lance was laughing, completely oblivious to Keith's obvious blushing. Pidge smiled and shook her head. Shiro was occupied with Allura and Pidge's parents, and Hunk chatted with Matt about some new idea they had.

Satisfied that her team didn't need her right now, she quickly slipped into the crowd and wove her way to Angela and Grant, now chatting with their friends.

"Hey guys," Pidge greeted.

Angela beamed. She seemed lighter than before, and Pidge couldn't help but feel a little proud of the other girl. She'd come so far in the months since the Paladins returned to Earth. Pidge still couldn't bring herself to be friends with her, but dammit if she didn't feel happy knowing they'd put their differences aside and could work together for the greater good.

"This is so cool!" Angela said. "Will you train me? Can I ask to be in your battalion? Is that what it's called? Oh, I'm so excited!"

Pidge laughed. "Whoa, slow down. No, I'm not doing any training, but you'll see me around. All recruits work under Commander Iverson up there." Pidge pointed to said commander, who still chatted with a few of his colleagues near the podium.

Angela nodded solemnly. "Is he nice?"

Pidge snorted. "You'll see."

Angela's mom finally escaped the crowd and approached the group. "Who's this?"

"This is Katie Holt mom, remember her? From middle school," Angela said.

Angela's mom raised her eyebrows. "Yes, I remember Katie." She gave Angela a pointed look that Pidge couldn't quite decipher, and Angela quickly jumped into rapid explanations and promises to be nice.

Pidge just laughed. "Angela has been perfectly fine to me as of late. I promise."

Her mom smiled. Someone caught her attention—probably Grant's mom, based on the resemblance—and she disappeared back into the crowd.

Pidge continued to talk to them, listening to Grant and Angela's plans for the Garrison with Chris and Layla. Grant wanted to be a fighter pilot, which didn't surprise Pidge at all, and Angela wanted to work in research and engineering. The positions suited them well.

A tap on her shoulder had her face-to-face with Commander Iverson. He smiled and jabbed his thumb towards Grant and Angela. "These two recruits your friends?"

Pidge looked at the four teens—Angela and Grant in their orange Garrison uniforms and Chris and Angela in their nice clothes—nervously staring up at Iverson.  _Your friends._

Pidge thought back to everything. To all the tormenting and the pain of elementary and middle school, and the late nights crying into Matt's arms, asking him to take her to the Garrison with him to get her away from the people at school. But she also thought back to the past few months. She thought of Angela in the park when Throk attacked, trying to help even if she had no way to. She thought of Angela visiting her when she woke up, and Grant asking for her autograph, and Angela's promise to defend Voltron to the world.

It was a complicated relationship, but not a bad one.

Pidge looked at Iverson and smiled. "They're just some old frenemies."

* * *

Three years later, when Sendak's fleet finally found Earth, they were ready.

Pidge watched Angela scramble around her station on the new castle, pulling up programs and video feeds on the computers, her lab coat flaring out behind her as she flew around the desks. On the video feed, she could see Grant in his MFE jet, in formation behind his fleet commander.

The new castle was a bit different than the old one; a whole lot bigger with a lot more stations for people besides the paladins. It was quite the achievement, and Pidge loved it just as much as she'd loved the old castle.

Pidge pulled her helmet on, ready to climb into Green.

"Hey, Pidge," Angela called from her station. "You need anything?" She'd been moved to Green's hangar for the duration of the battle to assist Pidge in any sort of repairs she needed. After she'd excelled in her classes, Coran had taken her, as well as some other cadets, under his wing to help him with the lions. Now each paladin had someone in the hangar to help them with whatever they needed.

"I think I'm good," Pidge answered.

Angela watched the MFE jets take off on her screen. She nodded once and walked over to Pidge. "Be safe out there. I'll have you on screen the whole time."

"Got it."

Angela slapped Pidge on the back and pushed her towards Green. "Now, go beat Sendak's ass."

Pidge laughed.

No, they weren't friends. There was too much history there to be just friends.

They were old frenemies.

And they were perfectly happy with that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, here we are at the end.
> 
> This fic has been a wild ride. When I started writing it, I didn't have much of an idea of where I wanted it to go. All I knew is that I wanted to see Pidge stand up for herself against old classmates. I never imagined it would turn into this adventure of a story. The outpouring of love and support for this fic has completely blown me away, and I couldn't ask for better readers. Thank you to everyone who has read, favorited, followed, or reviewed this story, whether you were here from the beginning or just joined today. Thank you so much.
> 
> This is not the end of my Voltron fics. I have a cyberpunk AU fic already planned, so be on the lookout for that eventually. There's also a chance that I'll have some short fics set in this one's universe, sort of like sequels but not really. Who knows?
> 
> Thank you all again. I'm so unbelievably grateful for all of you.

**Author's Note:**

> A lot of this is based on my own experience with bullies growing up and how it affected me even well into high school, but I'd love to hear how you guys think this represented the effect of bullying on someone, because that's something that's a big deal to me.
> 
> (also if you want this on fanfiction.net, you can find me at https://www.fanfiction.net/u/4736410/)


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